Guardians of the Day
by LoveFangs91
Summary: Forced to act as telepath for the Queen in a foreign city can Sookie survive what happens when her secret is discovered? Does she have enough strength to pull everyone through? AU. Lemons later
1. A Dream is a Wish

**Hello! **

**How are you all? It's been a few days now since finishing up Remember but here's the new story. I want to say a massive thank-you to my lovely betas Campyrs and BloodSucker815 along with Trajedy99 who has just joined the team too. Charlaine Harris owns the wonderful Southern Vampire Mysteries and on with the chapter. **

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Stuck inside what I could only describe as a broom closet I had nothing else to do but think. I'd been cramped up inside for hours already, the only illumination on offer to me came from the little face of my watch that glowed in the dark ever so slightly and the only company I had was in the form of the water bottle that was only half full. At least I was still being optimistic. I was over abject terror, I'd gotten past claustrophobia and I definitely was hopeless yet. That left me a surprisingly calm place, especially since I couldn't even hear anyone's thoughts since there was no one in the bedroom. There was no point in trying the door handle, mainly because there wasn't one on this side of the door and I couldn't get any purchase on the seam between the seam between the door and the frame, I could barely feel it the fit was so snug. So instead of wasting energy I relaxed back into the corner, pulling my new coat around my shoulders to keep off the coolness of the unheated closet and sank back into my thoughts, thinking of all the events that had led me to this place which was stuck inside an old closet on the sixteenth floor of the Blood Garden.

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"Why do you screw vampires? " They're the scum of the earth and not wanted by God!" That was one of the more pleasant questions thrown at me as I tried desperately to scramble through the crowd. I'd been unceremoniously dumped on the side of the street for all intents and purposes by the taxi driver who had taken one look at the crowd before zooming off as fast as possible, not even bothering to help me with my bag like he had at the airport.

"Bitch, what's a pretty thing like you doing here?" Another voice assaulted me, accompanied by roaming hands that clamped down on my shoulder, yanking me back towards the baying people. I'd had enough of this, I wasn't quite here against my will but there was certainly a long list of places I'd rather be and most of the things they were accusing me of, I wasn't even guilty of; at least not anymore.

"Let go!" I yelled back, using more volume than absolutely necessary. I pried the grubby paws off of my shoulders and threw myself forward, down the little bit of a clear path they'd left through to the front doors of the hotel. The sun was setting below the horizon casting everyone in a pale orange glow; the soft light contrasted sharply with the harsh people being bathed in the light. My right hand tightened on the handle of my suitcase as I tried desperately to wheel it down the paving slabs to my destination which didn't seem to be getting any closer no matter how many steps I took. The crowd closed in behind me and the sense of being buried rose in my mind sending my heart thudding.

"We're live with BMC in front of Blood Garden and another human servant is seen going in to court with the vampires that are just about to start rising for the night. A young woman is making her way toward the front doors. "Excuse me Miss! What is your job here?" A man in his mid thirties held a microphone out toward me, his arm reaching out over a couple of people in his desperation for a good story.

"No comment," I huffed and said the words I'd been instructed to say when asked any questions. I concentrated my eyes straight ahead, focusing on my goal of the opaque black doors. It was just as I was beginning to lose hope of ever actually reaching there that one of the doors was thrown open and two burly security guards barged through the crowd toward me.

"Come on Miss," one stated to me, gripping my suitcase in one hand and wrapping his other around the top of my arm, pulling me along behind his broad shoulders. The other giant of a man walked beside me, his arms held out to the side to keep the crowd back; helping keep the path we created clear. Eventually we took the two steps that raised the front of the hotel from the street and I was swept inside the sanctuary that was the lobby.

"Thank-you," I stuttered while trying to get my breath back. The only response I got was a curt nod from both of them before they resumed their positions beside the doors facing toward the elevators that lined the back of the foyer. At least that explained why they hadn't immediately come to aid me; they hadn't seen it at first.

"Sookie Stackhouse," I told the receptionist when I'd reached the plush desk that ran the entire length of the right hand side of the gigantic room from doors to elevators. The left hand side was taken up with doors that led to a couple of small conference rooms, the bar and restaurant, the staffroom and finally a corridor that, according to the signs, led to the part of the hotel where the summit would be held. The floor of the place was shiny marble; some squares black and others white making a checked pattern and everything was expensive, you could even tell by a cursory glance around such as the black dyed roses in crystal vases that adorned the large desk every couple of metres.

"Ah yes, you're all sorted Ms. Stackhouse, here's your room key and you can also use that to access the meetings and anything else that is security controlled. Have a pleasant stay." The woman behind the desk with her honey golden hair pulled up into a business style bun was entirely too perky for her own good when dealing with someone who had been up for as long as I had. I graciously accepted the electronic key card and immediately deposited it into the back pocket of my slouch fit jeans before smiling my thanks to her and turning towards the elevator.

It was only when I actually reached the impressive bank of them, all shining as though they'd never been touched that I realised I had no idea where I was actually going.

"Room 214, it's on the eighth floor, take a right when you get out of the lift and follow the path around, it should be on your left." The woman from behind the desk hollered politely from her position behind the bar, giving me a knowing smile.

"Thanks." The elevator dinged its arrival and I clambered aboard, noting that there were fifteen floors that could be accessed by this elevator alone and I knew the hotel comprised of two different blocks of different heights, this just being the smaller one.

After only a few seconds on a very stomach churning fast elevator I reached my floor and followed the receptionist's instructions to my door with tired eyes that I could feel drooping with the thought of a comfortable bed coming closer to my aching body. Fortunately for me my room was only about five doors down from the elevator and I was quickly inside which left me with my mouth hanging open at the room.

It was about half the size of the downstairs of my house even though it only incorporated three rooms into the design; living room, bedroom and what I could only assume was the bathroom behind a closed door. The living room held an expensive flat screen television mounted onto the wall above a fake fireplace that held real logs and the couches were recliners and looked big enough to use as a bed. The actual bed, which I could just make out through the open doorway straight ahead, was a massive four poster design with an ornate headboard of a dark wood that was simply stunning and the bedding matched the rest of the decor; simple, modern yet still with a homey feel that most hotels didn't even bother trying for.

My suitcase thudded to the floor as I let go of the handle to staring in awe at the room I was standing in, mainly just the sheer size of it considering I was staying in a human only room in a vampire specialising hotel. I padded through to the bedroom, my tired feet dragging slightly along the honey coloured carpet. The bedroom was huge, easily as large as the master bedroom in my home that my grandmother used. The walls which were a simple cream were decorated with gorgeous landscapes of the English countryside and one cityscape showing the local tourist attractions, and unsurprisingly there were more than a couple that I didn't quite recognise.

I turned to investigate the closed door and found that it led to the bathroom which was decked out with a separate bathtub and shower along with a little vanity table in the corner. The shower however, was what called to me. With a speed I hadn't realised I was still capable of at the time I grabbed my things out of the bag and jumped under the hot spray.

After an amazingly long shower of near scalding water which eased the tension out of my muscles, all my thoughts were focused on two things; a pillow and a comfortable mattress so I indulged myself and curled up on the bed.

Hot chocolate. I was seriously thinking about devoting a shrine to the rich drink since it was finally making me feel like I could actually sleep. My eyes had been drooping for hours and were bloodshot to the point that I looked ill but as soon as I'd laid my head down on the pillow to sleep they'd stubbornly refused to remain shut. The bartender had given me a quizzical look when I'd requested it but had brought it along anyway in a tall glass mug with whipped cream and a chocolate flake on top for good measure. I had been sitting on the same bar stool in the hotel for the past half an hour, minding my own business and just generally ignoring all of the bustling activity going on around me that was provided by the larger number of the vampires.

"I hate jet lag," I mumbled to myself, allowing a little bit of self pity to sound in my voice. I wouldn't complain to anyone else about everything but I could complain to myself; at least for awhile or more likely until I'd got a good night's sleep. I plopped the flake that I'd been saving for last into my mouth, shut the book that I'd been using to occupy my mind and slid down off the stool. If I was lucky I would be able to sleep now and I really wanted to test that theory because I wasn't actually fit to do anything. The last time I'd looked in the mirror I looked exactly how I felt; like I hadn't slept for more than an hour in nearly two days.

The gorgeous chocolate flake, that seemed richer and sweeter somehow than the stuff I was used to at home, melted in my mouth deliciously as I made my way out of the bar towards the elevators. The population in the hotel seemed to be primarily vampire with human and shifter coming in a close second of equal proportions. I was waiting in front of the large bank of elevators when I heard someone calling out behind me.

"Excuse me Ma'am." I smiled at the typical American phrase; I hadn't heard it once since I'd been here, and I turned around to find out what was going on. What I didn't expect to see was what greeted me; a hulking vampire striding purposefully toward me with a folder grasped in one hand and a coat thrown over his other arm. I immediately recognised the coat as my own. "You left this behind." He came to a stop in front of me and a look of concentration flashed across his face, followed quickly by recognition.

"Thanks," I said before he could start up anymore conversation; I was too tired to hold one as I'd discovered earlier at the airport. He deftly handed over the coat, making sure I'd got a firm grasp of it before letting go of the fading blue material that had seen me through probably too many winters.

"You're Sookie Stackhouse." It wasn't a question but it did however pique my interest since I had never seen this vampire before with his intelligent blue eyes that seemed to be studying me.

"Yes. I'm sorry but I don't think I know you." I replied politely and I actually managed to plaster a bright smile on my face, I could never forget my manners apparently.

"No you don't, I'm Eric Northman, and I'm with Sophie Anne. I've been told to give you this," he paused and handed the folder over with a grin that I just couldn't place. "You are to carry the passes with you at all times, they allow you security access to the areas private to our group and they identify you as being with the Louisiana and Southern United States group." He must have been given some form of information about me to be able to recognise me and feel confident enough to give me identification without double checking. There was nothing I could do but I really didn't like the idea that the Queen, or maybe even Bill, had been gossiping about me to other vampires. The few that knew about me were interested in me enough, too much really, without throwing any more into the mix.

"Okay, erm, thank-you." I took the offered folder and turned to enter the elevator since it had arrived at some point during our little interaction. I nodded my head once at him; his face now wore a bemused expression as he returned the acknowledgement and stayed there watching me.

"I'll see you tomorrow." He called out clearly, not bothering to raise his voice, just as the doors began to close. My attention turned to the folder grasped tightly in my hand and I opened it up to reveal a plastic card on a lanyard that had my own picture staring back up at me. Unsettlingly, I could barely remember posing for this photo, I believed it was the one from my driver's license and I knew I'd never given the vampires a copy. I swallowed down my unease and pulled out the other sheets of paper after obediently slipping the chain over my head. The papers were a list of events taking place over the next week, along with everything that I was expected to attend and a list of all the vampires in the group. Just as he'd said, Mr. Northman was indeed on the list; and the second name there which meant he was exceedingly powerful within the ranking.

I paid no more thoughts to the handsome vampire as I waited for the elevator to reach my floor; instead I skimmed through the pages of the binder to see faces staring back up at me, each with a little biography underneath. None of the words sunk in, in fact the only piece of information I could garner from the pages was that none of the Queen's entourage had been given a description as apparently all the other vampires had, instead all I had was a list of their names. The elevator dinged and I walked to my room which was thankfully nearby. Once I was inside I dumped everything into a careless pile on the floor and collapsed onto my bed and instantly fell into a deep sleep.

"_Leave me alone!" I called out wildly, my hands covering my face so that I wouldn't have to look at the man who sat in front of me. My elbows were resting on the table, I could feel the rough grooves of the wood underneath my skin and it helped to ground me somehow; get my emotions in check. I'd wanted nothing more than to throw myself at him, curve my fingers into claws to try and rip his flesh from his bones. _

"_Sookie, we need to discuss this." His cool voice haunted my ears, sounding as though he was surrounding me on all sides; like I was in a sea of his voice. I couldn't stand it anymore. I needed to stop treading water and start swimming fast; for the shore. A strange banging noise, as though Bill was smacking his hands atop the table registered in my mind, but the table wasn't moving at all. _

_He needed to leave fast; before I was tempted not to restrain myself and end up getting hurt. Hitting vampires when you're only human tends to hurt the person doing the thumping. _

"_Just go," I spat out, infusing as much venom into my voice as possible. I peeked through my fingers as I drew my hands down my face, wiping the tears away as I did so. "Bill, you need to leave." I stared at him, giving him the same stony expression he was giving me while trying desperately to ignore the wild banging sound coming from somewhere behind me. I made sure no emotion leaked through my eyes, giving him nothing in return for the nothing he'd given me in the past few months. _

_I allowed myself to take a few seconds to say an internal goodbye to him because if I had my own way, I wouldn't lay eyes on him again. It was only a pipe dream though; I knew being neighbours that my wishes wouldn't come true. His floppy dark brown hair that had just a hint of grey over the temples was hanging down over his eyes in a complete mess due to him constantly running his hands through it for the past half an hour. His deep brown eyes stared back at me, devoid of the humanity I'd fallen for. He was handsome, in a traditional kind of style, but I wasn't attracted to him anymore, I couldn't even look at him without feeling disgust in the pit of my stomach. _

_After a few seconds he silently stood up from his seat opposite of me and walked around the table where he placed a gentle kiss on my forehead, letting his lips linger which actually made me feel physically ill and then turned to walk out of the door and hopefully out of my life. _

"Shit!" I whispered, sitting up straight in bed. I'd thought those dreams had stopped months ago as I barely even thought of that vampire anymore, in fact I barely thought of any vampire apart from when I was working for the Queen. I glanced at the clock to find that only six hours had passed; somehow Bill had managed to disrupt my exhausted sleep and I just couldn't understand why. That was until I heard the loud rapping coming from down the hall again and I recognised it as the same sound that I'd heard in my dream; though, I hadn't understood it then.

Groaning, I fell back on the bed and pulled the duvet up above my head and screamed silently into the bedding, hoping that whoever wanted to get me up at such an early time, the sun had barely risen, would just leave me in peace. It seemed I wasn't getting this wish either because after a few seconds of waiting, during which I actually held my breath, the incessant knocking started again, this time it actually managed to sound angry.

"Gah," I sputtered out and threw the duvet cover back from the bed, exposing my pyjama clad body to the cool air of the bedroom. From there I willed myself out of the bed and heaved my grouchy self down the hallway toward the door where yet another round of knocking had started up. All I could think was that it better be some kind of emergency because if not, the person at the other side of that door was going to get a piece of my mind.

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**So what did you think? I already have chapter 2 with my betas (have I mentioned I love them for all the work they're doing to help me?) but i'm aiming to update once a week since that's probably all i'll be able to manage when term starts up. Expect an update same dayish next week. Thanks for reading and you know I love feedback almost as much as i love a certain Viking vampire. Btw, on sunday will someone let me know if Eric dies in the finale or not? I daren't watch it :) until I know  
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	2. My, My Baby Blue

**Hey again, **

**how have you all been? I want to say a huge thank-you to my wonderful team of betas; campyrs, BloodSucker815 and Tragedy99, i don't think this story would be posted without them. Thanks guys. Well here's chapter 2, Charlaine Harris owns the wonderful Southern Vampire Mysteries and on with the story!**

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I didn't even bother checking the peephole before throwing the door open and I couldn't stop the deep scowl from forming across my face. Standing before me was the same vampire from earlier looking just as refreshed as he would always look and it did nothing to help settle my annoyance.

"Yes?" I asked with a large sigh, letting him know precisely how I felt but not quite being able to be too rude.

"Miss Stackhouse, I've had word from the Queen, she wishes you to have a copy of this." He handed over a large cream coloured ring binder that was full of sheets of paper and had my name printed neatly across the top in a curling script. I didn't even bother opening it.

"Okay, shouldn't vampires be asleep by now?" I asked and I felt a blush creep across my cheeks at my question. "I'm sorry; I'm not normally this rude. I'm just really tired."

"It's okay," he replied with a smile tweaking at the edges of his full lips. "It's only a little after dawn and it's a dark day, I'm okay for a little while since I'm very old."

"Okay." I still gave him an apologetic smile before turning to actually open the binder; at least it gave me something else to concentrate on instead of the man in front of me. I'd just noticed how blond his hair was; easily as pale as mine which was a rare find on anyone over the age of five. The front page was another list of all the vampires within the Louisiana group and when I flicked the page over I found a sizeable picture of a strange man looking back up at me, someone I'd never seen before. Underneath the picture were a few paragraphs on the man and which group he belonged to, strangely his name was last. The following pages were exactly the same; biographies on what appeared to be every human attending the conference. "What's this for?" I wondered aloud.

"You are to memorise as much of this as possible and find out as much about them as you can in the course of the day's activities, which start at nine o'clock."

"Wait, nine?" I asked with wide eyes and without the use of my mental filter. I shook my head to clear it before offering him another apology which was only met with a chuckle.

"Yes, you have a little less than three hours."

"Okay, thanks. I'll see what I can do."

"Miss Stackhouse, what are you?" He was being overly formal and I couldn't figure out why. I got the impression from his confident stance and the clothes he was wearing, a black outfit consisting of a button down shirt open over a vest and tight fitting jeans, that he wasn't usually so formal.

"You can call me Sookie, and I think I'll leave that one for you to figure out yourself." The truth is that I'm a telepath which in no circumstances means that I'm at all physic, no matter what some people seem to think. I couldn't understand why he knew who I was but not what I was within the group, I wasn't exactly a secret anymore.

"Okay Sookie. If you find anything that needs immediate action the hotel does know to pass on messages directly from you to me." He nodded his head once in a goodbye and turned to walk down the corridor, away from the elevators. He'd only gone about ten paces when he partially turned around, not bothering to stop walking. "Nice pyjamas." I stared down at what I was wearing; a pair of boxers that I'd bought solely for this purpose in a bright yellow with black accents that made a smiley face and a vest top that had been bought for me by friend Amelia.

I shut the door behind me; quietly even though I wanted to slam it, even as frustrated at the lack of sleep that I'd managed, I didn't want anyone else to suffer. I padded straight down the hallway and into the bathroom where I finally caught a sight of myself in the mirror. My hair was a complete bird's nest with hardly any of it remaining in the bobble that I'd used to tie it up in a messy bun last night when I'd gone down to the bar. Long, dull locks hung down past my shoulders and my blue eyes looked equally as life less. At least I didn't have make up smeared across my cheeks but, the only thing that had saved me from that was being too lazy to apply any last night. Simply put, I looked bedraggled. At least looking in the mirror I could see the text on the vest top, 'I bite' but it was the text scrawled across the back that really amused me, 'it's worse than my bark'. I couldn't get away with wearing this outfit at home due to my grandmother being around.

Two hours later, which included falling asleep for an hour after my shower, I was heading down to the lobby dressed for the cool fall day which I knew I would be spending outside. According to the schedule it was a sightseeing trip around some of the more touristy areas in the city which seemed to me like it was a crèche facilities for the vampires who wanted something for the 'children' to do during the day. Even so I plastered a smile on my face in time to step off the elevator and meet a group of people milling around, some even talking in small groups.

"Hi, who are you with?" A young man, who seemed to be about my age, asked me before I was even three steps into the room.

_Are you Sookie Stackhouse? _He asked mentally and I couldn't tell whether he was asking as a test of my telepathy or in general wondering to himself.

"Hi, I'm with the Louisiana group, you?" I replied, offering my hand out for a shake which he gracefully accepted. He had a mop of jet black hair that wasn't really long yet not cropped enough for short and it was in a messy style that really suited him. Bright blue eyes stared back at me from under his fringe and I couldn't help but notice that they seemed kind; they were eyes that would make you tell everything, even if you didn't want to.

"Chicago, oh and I'm Caleb." He smiled at me, the motion brightening up his entire face and creating little laugh lines around the corners of his mouth along with crinkles at the edges of his eyes.

"Sookie." I retracted my hand from his firm grip and scowled to myself; I didn't use to be this cautious, not giving any more information than what I'd garnered from the other person, it was the vampires that had truly taught me such wariness.

"Which trip are you going on?" He raised his eyebrows sending them disappearing underneath his hair line in an expression that made him appear at least five years younger than his actual age of twenty seven, that piece of information I picked up straight from his mind. He wasn't easy though, he wasn't a broadcaster at all and I'd only gathered his age during skin on skin contact. The only thing I could get from him was a wave of intention, almost like what I got from shifters, yet I knew somehow that he wasn't a shifter of any sort either.

"There's more than one?" My smile became brighter, covering up my sudden nervousness around this man even though nothing had really happened to set my alarm bells ringing. I squelched the feeling down, and tried desperately to ignore it; I had a feeling that I'd need a human friend to help me through the next few days.

"Yes," he laughed good-naturedly and held out a sheet of paper for me to inspect that did indeed have a list of different trips offered. "Which do you fancy?"

"I think I'll just check out Covent Garden's shopping, I've heard a lot about it and there's Camden Town tagged along with it." There was also no price; all the other trips cost for transportation, although this was a shopping trip, I could just opt to browse and until I got paid for this trip I had to be very careful.

"That's what I'm doing too. Come on, let's get out of here. Have you met any other Americans?" We walked over toward the lobby doors and I stopped in my tracks when I realised I would actually have to leave the safety of the hotel. "What's wrong?" He now stood beside the doors, his hand on one of the handles ready to hold it for me.

"The Fellowship was out there yesterday," I stated as calmly as possible. The black glass of the doors meant that I couldn't see anything outside from where I stood.

"They were moved on, threatened with police action, it is safe now." He smiled at me again, only one side of his mouth twitching upward as he tugged on the heavy door and gestured for me to precede him.

"In answer to your question, I haven't, are there any more?" I asked once he was beside me on the sidewalk, half a pace in front since he apparently knew where he was going.

"Two, they're also with my lot but they aren't here yet." I nodded my head and we walked in silence for a few hundred yards until we turned down a side street and I was facing a tall sandy coloured brick building that was surprisingly ornate. Two large archways were attached at either side, green metal frames with glass making up the rest which allowed the sunlight to come streaming through, lighting everything up in a delightful way.

Three street performers were taking up position at different points; a magician was interacting with the crowd gathered around him, a man painted like a statue was making people jump every couple of minutes and to my far right a street dancer was wowing the people watching him. People were milling around everywhere; some shopping, some watching performers but most were simply wandering around without a direct purpose, just soaking up the atmosphere. Right then and there, despite the noise filling my brain and the unsettling company, I knew I was going to have a good day.

"Hi, do you happen to have any sweet tea?" I asked the bar tender as, for the second night in a row I found myself sat in the bar, this time perusing the menu for dinner.

"No love sorry. We have a selection of other teas though; Yorkshire, Earl Grey, English Breakfast, Traditional Afternoon, Rooibos and decaffeinated." His pen was poised over the little pad in his hand and he wasn't even bothering to look up at me.

"Erm, I'll take the Yorkshire please, and a Caesar Salad." He scribbled furiously on the pad for a couple of seconds after I'd finished talking then disappeared as silently as he'd arrived with only a nod of his head letting me know that he'd comprehended my order properly. I didn't particularly like the service; they just didn't seem polite as at home.

The day had taken its toll on me, no matter what I'd thought when I'd first laid eyes on the main building of Covent Garden, I'd been trying to shield as much as possible to cut out on the background noise from the crowds around the shops whilst keeping them low enough to get information from Caleb. It had been an exhausting task, especially since I'd actually needed to seem somewhat normal so that he wouldn't become suspicious of me, I had to hide my telepathy, even if he wouldn't believe it himself I doubted he would have any qualms about talking to his vampire group about me.

"Hello woman," a deep voice stated from across the table and my head shot up to reveal the vampire I'd met last night. "Sookie," he amended after our gazes had locked and I'm sure shock had taken over mine. I'd been staring down at the table, barricading up my shields so that I could relax somewhat within my own head.

"Hello Eric," I replied. Sitting back in my chair I noticed that he'd already made himself comfortable and I had to wonder how long he'd sat there watching me; there was a half full bottle of synthetic blood on the table, his jacket was draped over the back of the chair and I could only describe the way he was sitting as lounging. His long hair was pulled back into a knot at the base of his neck which left his face bare and I noticed for the first time, the stubble gracing his sculpted jaw.

"Did you learn anything today?" He enquired and gestured to the server, who'd just returned with my tea, to his glass, signalling that he wanted a refill.

"Nothing important," I replied honestly. I'd had learned lots about Caleb and I would probably class him as a new friend with all the information I'd gathered, even if he hadn't willingly given up all of it. There was still something in the pit of my stomach about him though, something I couldn't place my finger on.

"How old are you?" He asked suddenly, leaning forward in his seat to rest his elbows on the table.

"I am twenty seven." I quirked a quizzical eyebrow at him; he knew who I was so it wasn't too much of a leap to assume that he knew about me. "Why?"

"Just curious, you seem so much older and yet so much younger." He leaned back again on the chair just in time for the waiter to place a bottle of synthetic blood on the table in front of him. He nodded once in thanks before reaching over and simply snapping the beer bottle style top off, which caused the defined muscles in his forearms to stand out even more. My eyes followed upward from his arms until I reached his biceps which were stretching the thin material of his black t-shirt since his arms were now folded across his chest and I glanced up in time to see a knowing smirk flicker across his face.

"Don't you already know stuff about me?" I began tucking into the salad which came with the largest amount of chicken I'd ever seen on a salad and extra Caesar sauce if I wanted; my opinion of the service here had just improved, especially when I took my first bite and all the tastes washed over my mouth.

"Of course I do." He shrugged his impressive shoulders but made no further move to explain himself.

"Then why ask me?"

"You make for an interesting biography Sookie but you can't learn everything from paper. What's got you so jaded?" For some reason I had the inexplicable urge to tell him the truth, not all of it and certainly nothing too personal, but still a desire to tell the near stranger what had happened to me.

"Why do you want to know?" I took another bite of salad but couldn't resist adding a few drops more sauce.

"For that exact reason." Due to my full mouth my eyes widened and my eyebrows rose until he explained himself. "You talk to me like I'm a person, not just someone to be feared."

"I dated a vampire nearly two years ago now, it wasn't the best relationship and it ended terribly. Not before I was sucked down into the world of vampire politics by said ex-boyfriend and now I'm stuck here because I'm so useful." I wasn't really as bitter as I sounded; I was thankful for seeing the world and the vampires paid me well, enough to be quite comfortable for a couple of months after I did any work for them.

"Who was he?"

"I don't think you need to know that yet." If he wanted to find out he could, it wasn't really a secret but if I was honest with myself it was still painful to say his name because of the memories it evoked. Someone had to earn the respect and trust needed to be given that name by my lips.

"You live in Bon Temps?" He wasn't easily deterred and it was oddly fun; he'd said I spoke to him like he was real and he didn't speak to me like I was a possession.

"Yep, born and bred. Do you know the place?" He didn't have a southern accent, it was distinctly European but it was faint, as though the years had eroded it away.

"Yes, I live in Shreveport, I run the vampire bar there, Fangtasia."

"Oh, I know of that place." Sadly I was nearing the end of my salad so I took the last piece of chicken and loaded up the fork before popping it all into my mouth; it wasn't necessarily dignified but the salad really was great and a vampire wouldn't call me on my table manners.

"I've never seen you there, how come you've never been if you dated one of us?" It was difficult to determine what tone of voice he was using I just knew he wasn't being defensive and if his eyes really were as sincere as the blue depths appeared, he was genuinely intrigued.

"He didn't like Fangtasia apparently so we never went. So what about you, where are you from?" I poured myself another pot of the tea from the little pot the waiter had placed in the centre of the table.

"Originally Sweden, but I haven't been there in centuries."

"How old are you?" I asked without thinking, the oldest vampire I knew was Queen Sophie Anne; she was barely five hundred. "Sorry, you don't have to answer that." I thought internally to get my manners back in check and made a conscious effort to be more polite, more like myself with this vampire.

"I'm just over a thousand." I couldn't stop my eyes from bugging out of my head at that information; he was the oldest vampire I knew by nearly a millennia. "I love life," he added, shrugging his shoulders once again which caused the muscles in his upper arms to bunch tightly, stretching the fabric even more.

"You're the oldest vampire I know, how can you still be in love with life after all this time?" I was genuinely intrigued by the man now so I pushed aside my empty plate so that I could lean forward onto the table, resting on my elbows, much like he had earlier. I couldn't understand how he could still love the world after all the bad things that had happened within it, the horrible people it contained. I should know the true extent of the evil things people were capable of; I'd seen it first hand and I read it in their minds every single day. It wasn't just Bill that had jaded me.

"You know how people always say that their one wish in life is to see everything before they die?" I nodded my head. "That's my wish and I've discovered something in my centuries; you can never see everything that the world has to offer. I've seen more than most people can even comprehend; I've seen the worst and the best in people. I am the worst in people, but I still love this place."

"I just don't know how someone can still love this world after everything that goes on in it." He shifted in his seat then, leaning forward to mirror my position, our faces mere inches apart.

"Because you see the good that people are capable of despite all the bad things, all the vampires and werewolves, witches, fairies, maenads but worst of all vampires. People overcome the bad things. They're more than just lunch on the go." Just like that he snapped us out of the serious discussion and showed a toothy grin, his fangs elongated for a reason that I didn't know. It was amazing to not know every little detail about him unless he mentioned them. It was exciting to have to work for answers yet I still knew he wasn't all bad, there was some humanity in him somewhere or he wouldn't be talking to me.

"So what are you?" He switched topics so quickly it threw me for a loop and I almost answered him but before I could a smirk spread across my face.

"You'll have to figure that one out on your own." I glanced at the clock and found that it was nearing midnight already, I hadn't realised that much time had passed; the moments we'd spent deep in conversation must have been longer than I imagined. Still fighting jetlag I knew I had to go to bed to get a reasonable amount of sleep to be able to function tomorrow, no matter that I wanted to stay and talk. There was also the matter of a phone call to my grandmother.

"What are you thinking?" He asked suddenly, breaking my gaze from the clock and bringing it back to stare into his eyes. I still managed to notice how handsome he was. That's when I felt it, the licks of power at the edges of my brain, the invading mind wanting entrance.

"That doesn't work." I stated simply, clamping down on my shields so that hardly any white noise from the humans at surrounding tables could be heard and also so that he wouldn't be able to gain anything from me, try as he might.

"What doesn't work?" He replied innocently which was an expression that just didn't work on his face; he'd lost all of his innocence years before, centuries before.

"Vampire hypnotism, your enthralment whatever you want to call it. Controlling my mind doesn't work, never has. No one has access here." I tapped the side of my head, still staring at him and that was the only reason that I saw the flicker of awe cross his face and his lips twitching as he fought back a smile.

"What are you Sookie?" He asked again and let just a little bit of awe sneak into his voice.

"I said before, you'll have to figure it out on your own." With that I pushed my seat back to stand up but when my gaze flickered to the side at some strange motion I found the vampire already standing beside me with his hand held out.

I took the proffered help, even though we both knew I didn't need it, and watched as my small warm hand was wrapped up in his large cold one for the second it took for me to stand. My jacket and purse were then offered to me without me even seeing him pick them up.

"Thank you." He nodded at me with a questioning look taking residency in his eyes. I stepped away from him then, moving towards the exit doors but I stopped only a couple of feet from him. "Bill Compton," I stated before continuing on my way; he'd earned it just for talking to me.

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**So what did you think? You know I love feedback almost as much as I love a certain Viking vampire! **

**Anyway, next week i'll be updating chapter 3 on thursday since I move to London on friday :) Can't wait, I have a plan to go exploring the Natural History or Science, possibly both, next saturday and term starts on the 27th. I am hoping to get a oneshot out sometime early next week as well. **

**My car broke down on monday, i was on the motorway (middle lane as well) when i lost all power. Managed to get over onto the hardshoulder but i had my mum, who suffers from fibro myalgia in the car too and we couldn't get to her crutches. Anyway, it was an intersting day. Anywho, have a good weekend guys. **

**Oh and the title comes from the Aerosmith song Jaded.  
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**Thanks for reading. *hugs*  
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	3. Mister Fahrenheit

**Hey guys, **

**here's chapter three. A really big thanks to my team of betas - campyrs, Bloodsucker815 and Trajedy99 :) I wouldn't be able to do this without them. Bigger authors note at bottom. Charlaine Harris owns the wonderful Southern Vampire Mysteries. On with the chapter!**

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"Good afternoon sunshine," a happy voice called out to me. I pushed aside my empty lunch plate, which was more like afternoon tea considering the time and I looked up in time to see a floppy haired young man pull up a chair from a nearby table and sit down beside me.

"Hello Caleb," I replied cheerfully, pleased to see another human I could talk to, rather than who the person was. I'd gotten up late this morning, to the point where it was almost afternoon, and I hadn't had a conversation with anyone other than hotel staff since I'd awoken. "How are you?" I slowly lowered my shield, careful so that the sound of everybody around me wouldn't overwhelm me.

"I'm good thanks, you?" _I need to know if it's true._ The thought hit me like a bullet in the darkness, just a single thought that could have been referencing anything yet I still somehow knew that he was talking about me.

"I'm good, I didn't know jetlag could last this long though," I replied good naturedly, deciding to not let the feeling bother me since I had no proof of anything. He was also with the northern United States vampires, he would be on our side in front of all the foreign vampires, in terms of the summit meetings at least. We were the only country that had two representatives in the summit.

"If you haven't experienced it, it can be a few days before you get completely caught up on time. You can discover cheats to help yourself when you travel a lot." He ran a hand through his hair, pushing his entire fringe back so that I got my first real look at his eyes; they were a blue that was so pale they were really grey but had dark flecks of turquoise shooting through them. "What are you doing today?" The waiter came along at that point to clear my table, not leaving a bill as the Queen was picking up my tab for anything summit related, thankfully that also included food.

"I'm staying in the hotel, my area vampires are supposed to arrive late tonight and I need to be there so I'm going to rest. Are you going off anywhere?"

"Yeah, I'm going in about twenty minutes, we're going to one of the museums. Are you sure you don't want to come?" He raised his eyebrows, a hopeful expression crossing his face.

"I'm sorry, I can't, I really wish I could, I've heard a lot about the London museums, which one are you taking in?" I'd made a promise to myself that I would see the Natural History Museum before I left, the others I could deal with missing. Sam kept strange mementoes of hunting trips in the bar, none were from him since he had a kinship with the animals but many local hunters donated pieces. They tended to be small animals or the heads of the larger ones, either way it had given me a slightly morbid fascination with them so the Natural History would be perfect for me and also teach me some things. I was always in search of new information.

"Science, you sure I can't convince you?" _Please, please_ his mind repeated in a way I'd never quite heard anyone think like before, it was almost as though he was speaking to me which wasn't really possible. Although I was sort of famous around a certain group of vampires, namely the ones closest to the Queen, I wasn't known more than a rumour around the vampires of other areas, or so I though.

"No, I'm going to be up late, and to be able to help the Queen, I have to rest. Thanks for the offer though. Now, I should go." I offered my hand out for a shake since I was stumped as to what else to do. We were on strange fast friend terms due to our circumstances but ,we weren't close enough to hug. He shook my proffered hand firmly twice before bringing up to his lips and gracing it with a sweet kiss.

"I'll see you later." He smiled at me as he dropped my hand carefully. I turned around and walked straight through to the elevators; going up to my room where I had to call my Gran, I simply couldn't put it off any longer.

I grabbed the cordless hotel room phone and padded into the bedroom where I fell backwards onto the plush bed, letting my head sink down into the pillow. I might as well be physically comfortable because this was going to be a rather awkward conversation. If only I had some answers for her and potentially I did; two of them. One was a rather handsome young man and the other an ancient, gorgeous vampire. Each had their own problems; Caleb gave me a minor creepy feeling that I just couldn't place and the other I could speak to easily, yet I'd sworn off vampires after the last catastrophe. That meant I was essentially celibate considering I could only stand to be with vampires for any length of time, even shifters had to be really powerful for their company to be comfortable after awhile.

"Sookie?" My grandmother's voice shrieked down the phone after it had only gotten through half a ring, I doubt she'd even bothered to check the caller ID.

"Hi Gran, how are you?"

"Sookie, I'm good child, but how are you? What's London like? Have you met any nice young men?" That right there was the question that I hadn't been looking forward to, now the real question for me was how much I was willing and realistically allowed to tell her. I saved the worst part for last and started on the former questions.

"I'm good, too. London is interesting, haven't had much of a chance to explore yet though, I've only been to one place."

"Which one?" She asked excitedly, as though she was living vicariously through me, yet still managing to wait until I took a breath so that she wasn't really interrupting.

"Covent Garden, it's a really nice shopping area with these wonderful street performers!" I giggled and continued telling her about my couple of days spent here.

"So, what about the men?" My Gran had been a great supporter of Bill when we'd first started dating, even when I'd had a few doubts, to say she had guilt issues on boyfriend matters with me was an understatement, she continued to push me towards men in the hope that I would be happy. If I found happiness she would be pleased. I didn't think she had done anything wrong; she'd just been a very loving and supportive grandmother. I was going to indulge her.

"There's two guys I've met that are really good looking."

"Vampires?" She also happened to like vampires almost as much as I did.

"One of them, he's simply gorgeous, and straightforward. Even though I don't really know what he's thinking, he tells me enough so I'm not completely guessing. The other guy is sweet, human, but not a broadcaster, so I can cope around him."

"You like the vampire." She stated as though her observation was fact. I couldn't deny that I did. After all, I did like him, just not as much as she seemed to think.

"Yeah Gran, he's okay, I don't know him enough to like him properly."

"So what's his name? Does he know anything about the civil war? Where does he live?"

"I would love to stay and chat, but I have to go now; I need to get ready for work. I'll call you when I can, give my love to Jason. I love you and I miss you." She returned the endearments and we hung up, leaving me feeling drained yet surprisingly uplifted at the same time, which was a strange mixture.

By the time I was off the phone I barely had time to enjoy my shower and get ready in appropriate wear for my meeting with the Queen before I had to leave. My appropriate wear meant that my jeans had been swapped for a medium length black skirt teamed with a deep blue, thin sweater that made me look feminine yet professional. It was something else about the Queen that I just resented now; I wasn't even allowed to dress like myself when around her anymore. I had just grabbed my bag so that I could head down to the lobby where I would be meeting the Queen's assistant who would take me to her room when there was a loud knocking at my door.

"Hi, sorry, I'm just on my way out," I started speaking as I threw open the door, acutely aware that I was running the risk of being late. I came to an abrupt halt when I saw a frazzled looking Erics much as that's possible, standing in my doorway. That's when I clearly remembered what he'd said the night that I'd first met him; he was with the Queen, which meant he was taken and I couldn't allow my potential feelings for him to develop. His long blond hair was hanging freely around his shoulders in disarray from his hands running through it due to stress. "Hey," I added with a subdued smile.

"Sookie, the Queen requests your immediate presence in her suite." His hand ran through his hair again, smoothing down the strands so that he looked a lot more presentable. I also caught his chest rise in a breath that he didn't need. "You're needed to work." His hands finally fell back down to his sides which meant my attention was drawn down from his face. Dark splotches were splashed across the black material of his tank top, splotches that appeared to be wet.

"Okay, I was just headed down to meet her assistant." He stepped back, snapping my eyes back up to his and I stepped out of my room, making sure to lock the door behind me.

"You're going straight there." It wasn't a question and he was already walking down the corridor.

"What's wrong?" I asked loudly, still jogging to catch up with him.

"She's been propositioned by another group, I shouldn't even be telling you that but I think you deserve some warning. The proposition wasn't amicable; we had to restrain the vampire, but I was forced to let him go."

We walked down the corridors in silence. I'd been given enough information to piece together his erratic behaviour which seemed odd even for him even though I hardly knew him. The stains on his shirt were blood, from another vampire, even though I couldn't see the redness I knew, sadly, that blood showed up black on dark coloured clothing. The stressed-out appearance and frustrated gestures were from him itching for a fight, a fight that he'd obviously been commanded to give up.

My heart raced in my chest, thumping loud enough for the sound to echo in my ears and all because of the worry that was coursing through me. I didn't know what I was about to walk into but I knew it wasn't going to be good. I had no allies in this strange city, I knew no one that I could trust and I was about to walk somewhat willingly into a room where Queen Sophie Anne waited for me.

"What do you mean propositioned?" Before I could comprehend what I was doing my hand was resting on his forearm, holding him back from storming ahead. I squeezed tighter, making him turn to look at me so that I could see whether he was being honest with me.

"One of the vampire kingdoms wants you, the Queen doesn't want to give you up because you're too valuable to her at the moment. When she refused the messenger got too close for comfort, I stepped in to help. Just know that if they offer enough, she will change her mind. I can't tell you anymore." His eyes were wild, refusing to focus on my own and I knew that he was hiding something from me.

"Okay." I nodded, pulling back my hand as we started off down the corridor that would lead us to the other tower of rooms.

"Sophie Anne, Sookie Stackhouse is here," Eric spoke loudly into the room, walking straight in through the door to the Queen's hotel suite with the electronic key card he had. He stood aside then, his hand reaching behind him to usher me forward into the room where I came face to face with the Sophie Anne, the vampire I liked second least in the world.

I stood facing into the living room area of the suite where three sofas were arranged in a horseshoe shape around the fireplace, all were cream leather and one had a vampire sprawled across it. Her dark red hair was pulled back into a French plait that trailed down her pale neck where it met the black dress that made her petite frame look stunning. Her pretty face had minimal make-up that just enhanced all of her delicate features.

"Sookie! My favourite breather, come take a seat." She smiled at me, wrinkling her nose and gesturing to the seat opposite her. I tried not to notice the bodyguard behind her since he was so impossibly big she was literally lying in his shadow.

"Hello," I said, keeping my voice as neutral as possible as I took my seat directly opposite the Queen. She swung her slender legs over the edge of the sofa placing dainty feet on the carpet. Unnervingly she leaned forward, staring at me all the time. Her elbows rested on her knees, the fabric of her dress long enough to cover her milk white skin.

"I'm glad you made it here okay." She quirked her lips; making it obvious that she wasn't really pleased I was okay. I doubted she really cared either way. "You are however, giving me quite the headache but it's surprisingly fun! I don't want to let you go quite yet, you've proven yourself quite useful and you will continue to do so; unless of course you want to move on." Blood red lips formed a smirking pout.

"I don't want to move," I replied honestly. I may not enjoy working for the Louisiana vampires but I knew it could be much worse.

Eric walked into the room looking decidedly more composed than before; he was now wearing a fresh black button down shirt open over his t-shirt and his hair was swept neatly back into a knot at the base of his neck. The Queen paid him no heed; instead she continued speaking to me, telling me exactly what I would be doing for the week of the summit meeting.

Eric didn't take a seat; he simply paced up and down behind the Queen which meant he was out of her eye sight. The bodyguard didn't glance in Eric's direction; he just stood behind the Queen looking intimidating. He wouldn't have even been able to look pleasant or innocent even if he tried. I listened intently, taking mental notes, as the Queen informed me of my tasks which would officially start tomorrow evening with the opening ball. As soon as I could, I stood up and left the room, my eyes finding Eric's as I walked to the door and all I could see was stress in the blue depths. The sight of that was more unsettling than the feelings I got around Caleb.

I quickly made my way back to my room where I collapsed on my bed in an emotionally exhausted heap. Whenever I was around the Queen I hid the true extent of my powers. No one knew how powerful I had become since the first time I ingested vampire blood, unlike all the other side affects my telepathy had maintained its improved state which had only increased on subsequent blood donations. That was one thing that Bill hadn't been able to be disloyal to me about, because I never told him. I didn't bother to even get up to undress. I just laid there and allowed myself to wallow in the pit that I'd found myself in.

I was now stuck fighting for my position with the vampire political chain of Louisiana, a place where I didn't really want to be. It was the best that was offered to me and I had to fight because it was in my nature. I didn't just lie back and let things happen to me, I made things happen and I got through tough situations that always seemed to occur. It seemed like they were happening on a more frequent basis now as well. "Urgh," I groaned into the blackness of my room and I pulled the duvet cover up over my head, shielding myself from the world. This would be the last time I would wallow in self pity over the situation, in the morning I would be happy, or at least I would make the best of the situation.

"_Sookie, what do you think you're doing?" Bill asked; his voice was monotonous and cold. He walked into my bedroom where he discovered me packing my suitcase. Leaving wasn't the best idea but it was the only thing I could think of to get out of the meeting. I'd never run away to escape my problems before, I'd always stayed and fought for what I believed in and the people I loved. The problem here was that I couldn't stay and fight, I couldn't fight against a five hundred year old vampire and expect to win or even make things better. _

"_I can't stay here for this, I'm going for a few weeks, let things blow over and if you have any sense of what's good for you, you will come with me." I stuffed another jumper into my bag and zipped it shut. My chest was heaving with shaky breaths and silent tears were streaming down my cheeks. I wasn't strong enough for this no matter what the people closest to me said. _

"_You have to say Sookie, leaving will only make things worse." His hands rested on my shoulders, squeezing comfortingly before sliding down and wrapping his arms around my chest so that I was held tightly. The tears ran freely now. "We have to meet with Sophie soon; she isn't a vampire you want to keep waiting." That one word, Sophie, should have been my first warning; I would soon discover how not questioning the informality of that name would cost me. _

"_You will be there with me?" I asked weakly, already hating how pathetic my voice sounded. _

"_I won't leave your side," he whispered into my ear and I could see his dark hair falling forward out of the corner of my eye and the faint glow of his skin in the darkly lit bedroom. _

"_Okay then." I nodded my head decidedly and wiped the tears from my cheeks while keeping the sobs that threatened to wrack my body at bay. I was scared, more so than I ever had been before, and I couldn't shuck the sense that I was walking into a trap._

_Beep! Beep! Beep!_

"What the hell?" I groaned as the second time in as many nights I was woken up in the middle of the night by a noise that I just shouldn't have been hearing at such an ungodly hour. The shrill ringing and red flashing light of the fire alarm was lighting up my room, hurting my eyes as I struggled to fully wake up. The dream hung over me, haunting, as I sat up and became fully conscious and aware of what was going off around me which appeared to be the fire alarm sounding in the middle of the night. From the corridor I could hear running feet and doors slamming as people left their rooms in panic, fleeing down the stairs to get to the meeting point outside in the parking lot across the street. "Why, just why?" I whispered annoyed. My eyes fluttered closed for another couple of seconds and that was all it took for the panic to be running through every human head in the hotel to slip through my shields.

My mental shields clamped down, pushing every thought away from me but it was too late; adrenaline coursed through my veins causing my heart to thump and I was completely awake. I bolted upright in bed, threw the covers aside and bounced up. I grabbed a pair of jeans from the suitcase that was only half unpacked, threw them on over the top of my boxer pyjamas and ran for the door. I needed to get out of the hotel.

The corridors were a hive of activity with vampires walking quickly in what appeared to be every direction; there wasn't much that could really harm them but fire was one of those things that could kill them. People were scurrying about, trying to grab every little bit of their belongings instead of just getting to safety. I rushed past them, ignoring them as much as possible and went straight for the stairs, internally cursing the fact that I was eight floors up from the ground where safety lay.

The stairwell was only wide enough at this point for two people to stand abreast. We were so high up that no one used these stairs. People were pushing and shoving around me, trying to get out faster. The fear in the air was almost tangible, like I could reach out and grasp it in my hands. I pushed the feeling aside as much as possible, keeping my shields clamped shut so no stray thoughts could invade my already panicking mind.

My feet thudded on the ground, taking each step one at a time but literally running down them as fast as I could move. The fire alarms were getting louder the further down we all travelled, the noise seemingly more shrill as though egging us on to move faster and get out of the building. I was only two floors from the lobby when the lights suddenly went out, leaving the crowd in pitch blackness with only the tiny red lights from the sounders and detectors offering any illumination.

"Everyone, please keep moving slowly!" A commanding voice shouted out from somewhere above me. The people that had come to an abrupt stop with the loss of light began to edge forwards, everyone moving in single file, hands plastered to the walls to help us keep balance.

A disruption of air and the minor sounds of someone passing people was the only warning I had before a powerful hand clamped down on my shoulder, squeezing so tightly my right arm flinched with pain. My head snapped around to see what was happening and I came up with a blank. The minimal light in the room was too dim to let me see his face, all I could see was the outline of a masculine head attached to a tall frame that was leering down over me. The fingers gripped tighter, bruising my flesh, and I gasped in pain. I began to struggle, my arms flailing wildly to get away from him but was unable to do anything. The press of bodies around me was too close to move properly.

"Stop it," the voice hissed in my ear, his other hand clamping down on my completely free arm.

A wave of maliciousness hit me in a brain pattern that I couldn't recognise with the added contact, no words hit me just the knowledge that the man intended to hurt me. He didn't want me dead though, he just wanted me to hurt. Badly. I opened my mouth to scream but one of his hands moved from my shoulder to clamp down over my mouth, cutting off any air for me to scream.

For some strange reason it was then that I realised we were still moving down the stairs slowly with the rest of the crowd. My knees gave way, toppling me to the ground and out of the man's grasp since it were so unexpected. Pain ricocheted through my body as my body connected harshly with the concrete edges of the steps. The bright lights of the stairwell flickered, sending everything into a too sharp contrast for a split second before everything was thrown back into the darkness. The presence of the man just behind me shifted, his mind locked off, completely blank to me except for the single emotion I could almost physically feel washing over me; fear.

He ran past me down the stairs, his feet tapping away at each step in a staccato beat faster than anyone else. The lights came back on again, fully illuminating the area but they were side lights, powered by a back-up generator. Two pairs of hands grabbed me then, one on each side of me so that they could hoist me back up onto my feet with relative ease.

"Gotta keep moving miss," one woman stated quite calmly. She made sure I was stable on my feet before continuing on her way, rushing down the stairs after she'd squeezed past me. The other person, an older gentleman who was wearing a staff uniform kept a hold of me, walking by my side to make sure that I was going to be okay.

"Let's get you out of here." A dull ache set deep inside my right knee as I moved making every movement tender and jarring each time I planted my foot on the step below. Soon enough we reached level ground and cold air billowed onto my face through the open emergency exit doors.

My pace picked up at the sense of freedom and hope that spread throughout the line of people making their way outside and I quickly found myself standing outside the doors on my own. The gentleman had left me once I was outside the building, hopefully to assist other people and I took the time to look around me. The people that were still leaving the building, vampires and humans, was dwindling, it was mainly the people that had been on my floor and higher who were still making their way down the stair wells. Everyone was gathering in the parking lot across the street which was blessedly empty at this time of night. Sirens were wailing in the distance but I had a feeling they wouldn't be needed as the air was fresh with no traces of smoke at all and the dark sky was completely free of any flames or smoke.

My feet followed the people around me without conscious thought. Limping I made it to the parking lot where I began the search for the vampires from my area. My shields remained clamped down as I walked through the swarm of bodies so that only the type of person, whether they were human or vampire, was the only thing that got through. I looked at every group of blank minds, hoping they were my group. Even though we weren't exactly allies, I needed to report to them, make sure everyone was accounted for and see if I was needed.

The adrenaline that was coursing through my body was lessening its affect, my heart was beginning to beat slower and the breaths I was taking were deeper. I was still on edge though, I couldn't shake the feeling of being watched and I knew the man that had grabbed me on the stairs was here somewhere. I just wish I could recognise him, know who he was but there was nothing that would allow me to recognise him unless I met the same mind again.

I couldn't find anyone I knew, I only saw a handful of people I recognised from around the hotel. I was essentially alone in the parking lot, with someone that didn't want me to be walking around free. My group of vampires wouldn't just need me, I needed them. It was then that a hand gripped onto my waist and I came to another abrupt halt.

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**So what did you think? You know I love feedback almost as much as i love a certain Viking vampire. Oh and who do you think are the people that stopped our dear Sookie? **

**Okay, so first thing, been watching Season 3 of True Blood and the tender moments between Pam and Eric just melted my heart. Given me another idea for a one shot though. On the one shot front, i'm half way through and the lovely Trudy says that it's rather good so far. **

**Second, i'm moving to London, Camden Town to be precise which is also pretty much where this is set. So i'm not sure when i'll have internet set up and stuff which is why i'm updating tonight. Chapter 4 has been completed, it's been sent to the betas so it will be out next friday I hope. I'm sure if i haven't got a 'net connection by then I'll be able to find an internet cafe. **

**Third - Title of this chapter comes from Don't Stop Me Now by Queen. Gotta love that band also MCR who have finally come out of the woodwork with a new album. They're doing a gig in London on the 23rd, only a few miles from where i'll be staying.  
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**Finally, thank-you for reading and have a wonderful weekend :)  
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	4. This is a Tricky Situation

**Hello!**

**How are you all doing? I'm doing great, i'm loving uni so far (classes start properly on monday**) **and i'm pretty sure i'm in love with Camden :) It's absolutely fantastic, there's so much to do and the Stables/Dock Yard/Markets are amazing. Ah... **

**Anyway, i've had some serious issues with internet access and my dorm room. I'm sleeping in a hotel because we don't have water in the dorm flat, though the uni is nice enough to pay for us. I'll be back in my dorm permanently from monday. I only got internet access in my dorm today and i have it in the hotel though i'm not paying for it (£5 per hour!). **

**I wanted to thank-you all for your kind reviews, it was brilliant opening up my email account and seeing all the emails in there. **

**Anyway, here's chapter 4. Charlaine Harris owns the wonderful Southern Vampire Mysteries and on with the chapter. **

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"Argh!" I screamed at the contact, pulling out of the grasp as I did so. The movement only resulted in another hand gripping my waist which stopped me mid jolt, another scream awakening on my lips.

"Sookie!" The deep voice behind me snapped, the sound cut through my clouded mind and turned my yell to a whimper. I shrivelled back against the touch, crouching down as much as I could but the grip didn't allow me to move far, the hands stayed where they had been planted. "Calm down." I was spun around and I was instantly wrapped up in strong arms with my face pressed against a cold chest. "It's Eric." And just like that my breath escaped me and the tension that had my muscles clenched was relieved which left me quivering.

"What's happening?" I whispered; my voice was unable to rise any further in volume. My body was crumpled against his broad chest, my arms trapped beneath our bodies and everything was shaking as I came down from the adrenaline rush.

"There's a fire down in one of the sub basements, it's small. We need to get out of here; the Guardians have gotten wind of this and are beginning to gather. Come with me." I pulled back out of his embrace to look up at him, making sure that he was really there for me. His mental silence washed over me, pushing the crying of all the human minds aside. The expression on his face wasn't one that I'd expected; he looked almost in shock, as though he couldn't quite believe he was comforting a human in his arms.

"Okay." I nodded faintly, stepping out of his arms completely so we could move to whatever safe place he had in mind. I had no real reason to trust this vampire but there was nothing in me that said I couldn't either, I had to give him the benefit of the doubt, especially since we were from the same area, that he would do right by me.

One of his large hands slipped around to my lower back where he gently pressed against me, leading me away from the main crowd. I could feel his cool presence just behind me and I held onto it, the calm within the storm that helped to keep me at least somewhat together. I knew in the stairwell that it hadn't been him but I needed to know how much he knew.

"How did you get out of the building?" I asked once we were out of earshot from the milling humans. We had walked through the parking lot, through the other side and were walking down a small alley way between two other brick buildings. Up ahead I could see an accumulation of lights in what appeared to be some form of courtyard, we were still too far away to make anything out and I had no idea where we were going.

"I flew." He answered easily.

"What?" My feet came to a standstill at the revelation but the coaxing hand, that had never moved from its original position since we'd started moving, brought me back to walking albeit more slowly.

"I can fly. You've never seen another vampire who can?" An amused tone had taken over his voice and a smirk graced his face when I glanced up at him. I shook my head in answer. "Well then you're in for an interesting stay in London, I have many other things you've never seen." His eyebrows actually waggled at me and I could hardly suppress a giggle.

I sobered up quickly when I remembered why I'd asked him how he'd gotten out of the building and I had another question burning in my chest to be asked. "Did you see me in the stairwell? Was it you in the stairwell?" Deep down I knew it couldn't have been him; I'd gotten an impression from the person who had grabbed me on the stairs and the hands had been warm, not the cool flesh of a vampire. Yet still I had to ask because I knew I could read a vampire's mind. It happened occasionally, rarely, and it was a sworn secret.

"What happened in the stairwell? No, I didn't see you until the car park." His order of response surprised me and showed just how his brain was working. A look of concern flickered across his face and he stopped me, the hand on my waist looped round so that his hand rested on my stomach. "Sookie, what happened in the stairwell?" I didn't have an excuse not to tell him and he'd given me no reason not to trust him.

"Someone grabbed me." I told him the whole incident which didn't sound like anything at all when I actually said it out loud. "I was shaken up already because of the fire, because everyone was freaking out and I could feel it. I guess it wasn't really much of anything though." I finished and we were still hiding in the shadows of the alley way, leaning against the wall so that anyone looking down to where we were wouldn't be able to see us.

"That's not nothing, that's someone wanting to harm you. Someone knew who you were and wanted you bad enough to risk their human. A human who was special enough to be chosen for this summit. Sookie, that means you're special."

"Yeah, the Queen wants me around and there's a reason for that." I had to explain things to him; there was no way around it now. I could trust this vampire about this, I had to trust him because there was no else to turn to.

"What are you Sookie?" He stooped down slightly so that his eyes were level with mine.

"Well I'm a..." I started out but was cut off by a high pitched trilling voice.

"Eric, I can hear you. You need to get here. Now!" I recognised the voice as the Queen's and she wasn't happy.

We continued to stare at each other for another second inside our own little bubble. I took in his dark blue eyes, made all the darker by the exceedingly dim light, and I felt the calm of a blank vampire mind wash over me. The calm washed away my frazzled nerves and the last effects of the adrenaline rush. When he broke away, unable to withhold from his master, I realised that my shaking had stopped and my voice had returned to its normal volume when I'd last spoken. Eric had calmed me down.

"We need to move." He stepped away then and started to walk down the alleyway, the only way I knew he was actually making sure I was following was the slow pace and the strides that appeared to be shorter than he was comfortable with. Without saying anything I jogged slightly to catch up.

"What the hell happened?" Sophie Anne screeched as soon as we stepped from the shadows offered by the alley way, side by side. She was strutting up and down, walking between two of her body guards. Her deep red hair was trailing down her back, the French plait from earlier was barely holding on with strands falling around her face. "It's only two hours until sunrise, they better have that building back open before then or they will have me to deal with." It would have been laughable if I hadn't known the Queen personally; she was a tiny woman and the least intimidating vampire I'd ever encountered if you went on looks alone since she'd been turned when she was in her mid teens. Her personality was a different matter though, she took little provocation to strike and she struck hard.

Eric bowed his head deeply before speaking, a gesture to the Queen that she was more powerful than he was. It didn't take much of an outside perspective though to notice he didn't show as much reverence as the other vampires, and I had to wonder whether he resented being under the control of a vampire half his age. "There was a small fire; it's already been put out. Apparently they're just checking for damage to make sure everything is safe. Once that has been done the electricity and gas will be switched back on and the building will be deemed safe for habitation again."

"Where were you?" She asked accusingly as though she'd only just realised I was actually standing with them in the square behind the buildings. I stood tall in her glare though, I set my back straight and I looked back towards her, although I couldn't quite make myself make eye contact in case she saw it as a threat.

"I was in my room when the fire alarm went off. I made my way down the stairwell with everyone else. Eric found me in the parking lot." I didn't embellish the incident in the stairwell, I wasn't sure whether I should tell her and with Eric by my side, if he thought I should he could always speak up. He didn't say anything.

"Fine. Your first port of call though should have been to check the safety of your area vampires, not to get yourself out of the building." Vampires have a tendency to go up like dry kindling at the first spark against them. "If anything should ever happen like this again you are to find _us,_ any of us, first," she fumed and I half expected to see steam billowing out of her ears.

"She isn't a body guard. She shouldn't be expected to help us out in this sort of situation. As far as I can make out, and that isn't much since not one of you will tell me anything of importance, she isn't here to keep us safe!" Eric's voice ricocheted around the space, dripping with so much venom that it made me slink back even though it wasn't directed at me.

"That's exactly what she is!" Sophie Anne flung her arm out toward me and I slunk even further back until I leaned up against the wall. My heart was back to hammering in my chest and only the deep bass growl in their voices meant that I could hear them above the thudding in my ears. "That's why she's here to make sure everything goes ahead normally, to keep us safe from potential threats. It's one of many things." Anger began to rise in me as the Queen continued to speak, the way they were speaking about me like I wasn't there hearing every utterance.

"Why won't you tell me anything?" Eric began pacing, following the path the Queen had previously taken before. He actually turned his back on her, showing that he trusted her or that he believed her to be of no threat to him. I had a feeling it was the latter.

I let myself fold up into myself so that I was removed from the situation in front of me. I couldn't let myself snap at them or it might end up being the last thing I would do. It took everything I had to hold my tongue in check, keep my words to myself but I managed it and I watched the vampires verbally fight it out.

"You're the biggest threat I have Northman. You're the vampire who is most likely to take her away if you find out, so you will learn nothing from me or any of mine." The Queen came to a standstill, her hands resting on under developed hips and her expression was stony, scarier than a look of anger would have been.

Faster than I could follow the Queen was held up against the wall by one large, pale hand gripping her neck hard enough to make her eyes bulge. Her dainty feet dangled almost three feet above the ground. Their faces were mere inches apart, Eric's lips drawn back in a fierce snarl as he growled his words out. "I can make you tell me. I can force it out of you." His grip tightened so much that his knuckles looked like they would burst through the skin and his other hand pinned her wrists so that she couldn't use her hands to fight back. His lower body was effectively trapping her legs; she was helpless in his superior power.

The guards stepped in at that moment, two rushing forward to each grab one of Eric's arms. His face showed no strain, or pain, at their efforts and he remained standing there, holding up the Queen and resisting the strength of two guards. "To be my Queen you have to trust me. I show no respect to someone who doesn't show the same to me. Tell them to release me before I make them."

"I am your Queen. I command you to release me." Sophie Anne croaked out, her voice barely a whisper.

"No. Make them release me," he spat out, enunciating every word clearly. If the Queen had been human she would have been turning purple in the face and blue in the lips through lack of oxygen. I would also suspect a crushed trachea. She stared ahead at Eric, her eyes glassy and what I thought was a hint of fear beginning to creep in at the edges.

"Release him," she breathed out, I couldn't actually hear the words but I read her lips. Instantly the vampire guards released their hold, taking a couple of steps back for good measure and then, slowly, Eric released the Queen. She dropped to the ground before she could catch herself which meant she ended up huddled over in the most ungraceful movement I'd ever seen from a vampire.

"Now, get out of my sight before I decide to give you the second death." She barked as soon as she'd stood up straight and smoothed down her ruffled hair. She stood as tall as her petite frame would let her, the fire once again alive in her eyes.

Eric stared at her for another second before spinning around on his heel without another word and walked back toward the alley way, his hair billowed out behind him with the speed. I was still staring at the gap between the two vampires; I couldn't believe that the fight was over without coming to a bloody conclusion. I couldn't move because if I did they would remember I was there, the human who was so easily broken. I would be collateral damage in their fight for dominance. As he passed me by his hand darted out, grabbed my wrist and pulled me along with him, down the alley way on stumbling feet.

"Eric, slow down." I managed to squeak out when we reached the parking lot again and I still hadn't regained my balance. His blue eyes glanced down at me and the hard expression softened slightly allowing a hint of emotion to seep in. His pace slowed down until we finally came to a stop against the railings that marked the edge of the parking lot which I gratefully leaned against. "Why do you let her be your command you? You're so much more powerful than her." I whispered as loud as I dared, I couldn't be sure that someone wasn't following us. My body dampened down what I'd witnessed, the adrenaline that felt like it had been coursing for hours kept me numb which meant I no longer felt fear.

"I have no desire to take her job. There are better things in life. I might give you the full answer one day. I think we need to talk privately though." He didn't pose it as a question but the intonation of his voice rose at the end of the utterance, asking me whether it was okay. All I could do was nod my head and follow him as we made our way in silence back to the building which appeared to now have the all clear.

We mingled in with the rest of the crowd, his hand would dart back to grab my wrist whenever I dropped behind. His incredible height and cool presence meant that I never lost him in the volume of people, he was always at least a few inches clear of everyone and his beautifully pale blond hair stood out amongst the majority of brunettes. Once inside the lobby the crowd began to disperse with everyone disappearing in different directions to get back to their rooms or whatever they were doing before the fire alarm sounded. I was led toward the elevators but not the bank that I'd been using for my room; these were at the opposite side of the lobby, still against the back wall. It wasn't until we were inside and had travelled up a few floors which meant we were on our own that I dared to speak.

"Where are we going?" I sounded stronger than in the parking lot even to my own ears.

"My hotel room, it's the only place I know we won't be disturbed. Even the Queen doesn't know about it." He didn't look at me when he spoke, just continued to stare straight ahead at the closed doors as we moved upward at an alarming rate. I really didn't like elevators.

"Why doesn't the Queen know? All rooms were booked in her name." Even my room, which had been booked for longer than the vampires and wasn't anywhere near the collective rooms, was booked under Sophie-Anne.

"I wanted some privacy, the Queen often has ulterior motives and it wouldn't be below her to put bugs in my room to monitor my activities." I noticed a little smirking grin flicker across his lips and he actually glanced at me as he spoke the last little bit. "It's near my original room so they can't tell."

"I think that makes you more devious than the Queen," I told him honestly and I was relieved when the elevator dinged and the doors opened up to reveal an empty hallway.

"I've had a few more centuries to practice." His hand went to the small of my back again so that he could lead me swiftly down the hallway until we came to a stop outside of his room.

The inside was more extravagant than mine, but less so than the Queen's, it was also a double room designed for both vampire and human occupation with separate bedrooms, one each for a king sized bed and a coffin. Every door in the suite was open wide, giving me a clear view of everything and I could see that every room was tidy. We walked into the living room area which also held what passed for a kitchen, which was basically a microwave to heat bottled blood and a refrigerator that was large enough to keep some actual food too. I sat down on one of the two sofas and shucked my coat, placing it on the cushion beside me. It was only then that I remembered I was only wearing a tank top and a pair of jeans over my pyjama boxers. I folded my hands over my chest instinctively and I was instantly self conscious.

"Here," Eric said and I looked up to find a wool knit jumper held out to me which I gladly took and I wasted no time in slipping it on over my head.

"Thanks." I couldn't help but notice the intoxicating scent as the black material moved down past my nose; fresh, line dried linen and an undertone of masculinity that reminded me of vampire. I couldn't help but sigh and relax back against the sofa with the calm that only spending time alone with a vampire can bring me. I relished the sense of being alone in my own head that they brought me; I couldn't read a vampire's mind and they were blissfully mute, in return they couldn't touch my brain.

I followed him, ashamedly my eyes dropped low to his butt which filled out his tight fitting jeans wonderfully; as he went to grab a bottle of blood along with what turned out to be a bottle of water for me. Once the blood was heated up he snapped the top off fully with his bare hands and then joined me in the living room area, taking a seat on the sofa opposite me. His long legs stretched out in front of him and he slouched against the back of the sofa, looking completely relaxed. The facade would have worked if I hadn't noticed the tendons in his neck standing out taught, and the vein in the centre of his forehead that seemed to have filled with blood it was standing out so much. If he'd been human it probably would have been pulsating.

"What are you Sookie Stackhouse? You're the most interesting human I've met in..." his voice trailed off and his eyes glazed over showing he wasn't currently in the room with me. As though I'd snapped my fingers he jumped back into reality and another flickering smile crossed his kissable lips. "Well, ever. So Miss Stackhouse, what are you?"

"Well, I'm a waitress," I started out and I couldn't help but giggle at the deep growl of frustration he let out. "You have to listen to the full explanation before you make any judgements or get angry. Just restrain yourself." I stared at him as I spoke, straight into his startlingly blue eyes and I searched for honesty there. I searched for something in his eyes that I could trust and all I could find was life. It was more than I was used to and I clung to it, desperately. I had a feeling, I'm not sure where from, that I would be gaining an ally. He'd never shown me anything in the couple of days that I'd known him that I should distrust him, in fact he'd actually helped me when he had no reason to.

"Okay," he stated, making it sound like it was a promise.

"I'm a telepath. I read minds, everyone but vampires," I added on quickly, getting the most important statement out. "I've developed mental shields over time so that I can almost tune it all out when I try hard. Most of the time I shield enough to get by without going crazy and on the reversal, I can tune in better now. Shifters and other Supes are hard to read, but I can still get a general feel for them. Contact makes it stronger and with some humans I need contact to get a clear reading. That's about it." I let out a long breath, making my frazzled nerves lose their grip on my tension as I did so. I couldn't look up at him to see his reaction. I didn't want to see him turn away from me if that was going to be his reaction.

"You can't read vampires?" He asked after a few seconds and I finally glanced up at him and I was actually shocked by what I saw.

"I can't read vampires." Complete acceptance.

"Okay." He nodded his head once and stood up, leaving the room and returning only a couple of seconds later with some form of card in his hands which he promptly handed over. "You need to eat."

"Thank-you." Two minutes later, after a miniature argument about who was paying that I lost, an order was placed to room service for a sandwich and we were back to sitting opposite each other on our respective sofas.

"Can I ask a question please?" I asked after we'd spent a few seconds contemplating what I'd just revealed in silence. He nodded his head but didn't bother verbally saying anything. "Why do you put up with the Queen acting like that towards you? Why didn't she want to tell you about a telepath in her service?" I was aware that I was speaking about myself like I was the Queen's possession but it was how she spoke about me.

He sucked in a big breath that he didn't need, letting it out slowly through his mouth before speaking slowly, thinking over the information before he said it aloud. "Sophie Anne is much younger than me, but it's not just that which sets us apart. She was barely an adult when she was sired which means she's weak anyway. Even with vampire strength she's weaker than anyone else her age. Being a female means she's weaker."

"What do you mean by that? The genders are equal; you have no right to say that being a woman makes you weak!" I snapped at him. I couldn't keep my mouth shut and I instantly regretted it, knowing how much trouble my words could get me into. My cheeks flushed crimson with anger and I leaned forward in my seat to stand up so that I could more effectively glare at him. However, I hadn't moved more than a few inches when a pair of strong hands clamped down on my shoulders, keeping me in place and a set of blue eyes glared right back at me.

"Listen woman, that's not what I was saying. The sexes are equal, humans and vampires I'm working on. Now let me finish," he growled out the last bit and squeezed my shoulders before he went back to lounging on the other sofa as though the little interaction had never happened.

"When she was changed women were second class citizens, even when she was changed it took her ages to become used to being powerful so even when she acts tough, sometimes it's just that, an act. I still don't want to be King, she doesn't seem to always remember that but she also knows that if I do test my position she can't really do anything to stop it."

"So you're the jerk vampire that forever needs to be put in his place?" I asked with a slight giggle, hoping that my question would help turn the conversation more light hearted.

"No, usually I don't actually bother." Our conversation was interrupted then by the loud, distinct knocking on the door which Eric immediately went to answer. He returned a moment later carrying an overly ornate silver tray and another bottle of water which he placed on the coffee table in front of me. "Here you go. You can stay here if you need to, there's the human room. Stay at least until you've finished eating and the sun has risen fully, there's some old vampires here, but I must leave you now. Sunrise is nearly here."

"Okay, thank-you," I replied and I snuck a glance at the clock on the wall just behind him, finding that it really was almost sunrise. "I'll go back to my room after this."

"Well, good morning Sookie and thank-you for telling me your secret, I admit it would have been fun to really find out on my own." He grinned at me, showing a little bit of fang before turning on his heel and walking toward the darkest room in the suite. The door was shut behind him and I heard the clicking of a large bolt sliding into place and then quiet filled the suite, only my breathing disturbing the peace.

I managed to get another five hours of sleep that morning and with an afternoon nap thrown in for good measure I was perfectly awake by the time I needed to head down to the Queen's room for the opening ball. After eating the sandwich this morning I'd scurried through the hallways until I found my own room where I promptly fell asleep. I got up and went down for a breakfast where I met up with Caleb, sharing funny stories about the silly things that we'd done for the vampires we were with before heading back upstairs. Due to the nap I'd been running late on getting ready so my hair was hanging loosely over my shoulders instead of up like I'd intended. In a room full of vampires, it was probably for the better, showing off an exposed neck might have been asking for trouble, especially if there was a hungry vampire around. Overall I'd had a very successful day, which to me meant I hadn't been in any form of dangerous trouble and I'd been around humans that didn't have anything against vampires although I had heard the English Fellowship of the Sun had taken up picket again outside.

I held my head up high, banishing the thoughts of the day away and I walked into the large conference rooms that had been transformed in less than a day to a gorgeous ball room with banquet tables, dance floors and even a live band which was more like an orchestra. I grinned at the effect and walked into the room with eyes roaming over every face in the crowd so that I could take absolutely everything in. Ladies were dressed to the nines with sparkles and shimmering dresses that were accessorised with every type of jewellery you could imagine, the only real difference from a human ball; there was no silver.

I stepped forward into the room fully and I took notice of the colourful strobe lights in the dimly lit halls, and went straight over to the tall round tables that held champagne flutes for the humans. There were also some wine glasses filled with a dark red liquid that was too thick for wine. I paid those glasses no more notice and picked up one of the others, wasting no time in taking in a mouthful of the bubbling drink.

"Hello Miss Stackhouse," a chipper voice chirped in my ear and I spun around to find Caleb smiling at me, holding his own glass. "How are you doing? I haven't seen you in about, oh," he pretended to ponder deeply which only caused me to giggle. "Twelve hours."

"I'm fine, good actually, and you?" We walked away from the drinks tables to wander around the rest of the rooms where we ended up leaning against a wall, a suitable distance away from the band that was playing some slow, enchanting music. We were close enough to hear everything clearly and far enough away so that we could talk without raising our voices.

"You look amazing," he whispered into my ear and I shuddered as his breath tickled the sensitive flesh of my neck, it even caused a few Goosebumps to rise along my arms.

"Thanks, you look pretty dapper yourself," I replied honestly and I even snuck another glance at his lean body. I defended that action by knowing that it had been a long time. His black suit jacket showed that he had more muscles than I'd first given him credit for with his broad shoulders and slim waist. The thin black tie stood out in stark contrast to the pristine white shirt until it disappeared into the fastened up jacket and below that point, it was just impolite to look since it wasn't in my natural gaze. _Do you like what you see?_

My head snapped up at that thought and I searched his face for answers but I found only an innocent expression that was also slightly hopeful. "Would you honour me with this dance?" He held his hand out and I slipped mine into it, letting myself be lead out onto the dance floor. That explained the hope I'd seen, he'd wanted me to say yes to this question not the one I'd heard mentally. It was absurd to believe that he knew about my telepathy, even vampires from my own area didn't know about it so a human from another state entirely shouldn't know a thing. I wasn't completely naive though, I knew some vampires from other areas did know about me, you can't keep a telepath completely secret but I didn't believe it would be news shared with human subordinates.

As soon as we stepped onto the dance floor he pulled me around to face him, his hand already on my waist and he expertly manoeuvred our hands into the proper grip. With only a slight tentative shudder my other hand rested on his shoulder and we were moving before I could blink. His grinning face was inches away from my own and the happiness he exuded was contagious, we'd barely gone three steps by the time I was grinning right back at him. I loved to dance.

"You can dance, I had a feeling you would be good," he told me after a couple of minutes of turning around the dance floor and he was really beginning to put me through my paces.

"How did you know?" _Have you seen the way you walk? _It was only through years of schooling my face that I kept my face neutral to the internal thought and the images that came with them.

"Because you have a strange grace with your movements and you hold yourself with pride," a deep voice that I hadn't been expecting answered for him, speaking over my shoulder. We came to a standstill, luckily near the edge of the dance floor and I turned my head enough to see Eric looking back at me. "May I cut in?" He said to Caleb, his voice clearly saying that he had no choice in the matter; he was losing his dance partner.

Caleb bent his shaggy head to me, his eyes disappearing underneath his hair. When he raised his head, his hands picked mine up from his shoulder, gracing my knuckles with his lips before giving me back my hand and stepping away graciously.

"Thank-you for the dance," he said before he slunk into the crowd. I lost track of his retreating form as soon as Eric's hands gripped my waist to spin me into his arms, holding me closer than I would have guessed. Smoother than what he could have planned, the band eased the tempo and went into a slow song and Eric only pulled me closer until our bodies were connected in one long line.

"You look beautiful Sookie," Eric whispered to me, his nose brushing against my ear and his lips skimming against my skin. My cheeks flushed scarlet at the compliment and I remembered what I was wearing; he would remember it from the time it was really in fashion.

The dress was vintage, from the 1950s. Black satin made up the gown that fell to just below my knees in a full skirt that swished outward when I twirled. The waist had a clinched-in panel that helped my average, healthy frame look borderline skinny and the bust was ruffled around the edges with no straps. The thing I liked most about it though was the almost strap that looped around the back of my neck, made out of sheer chiffon that was sprinkled with glimmering rhinestones. My long blond hair brushed the back of the dress which meant that every time I moved a hint of tanned flesh was shown on my back.

"Thank-you, you're very handsome yourself," I replied back, actually managing a little smirking grin when I'd got my blush under control. I hadn't had a chance to look at him properly since I'd been transferred from Caleb's arms straight into his but the bowtie around his neck signified he was wearing a full tux and I could see a slip of a crimson handkerchief poking out of his breast pocket. I didn't need to see evidence of his muscles, I could feel them rippling under my hands with every movement.

"I still can't believe we've never met," he added after a couple of moments just feeling each other and I'd bathed in the silence that just being in his presence afforded me. It was as though vampires helped block out the white noise from humans that I heard whenever I was around them.

"I've never been to Fangtasia," I replied; I thought we'd already had this discussion.

"Yes, but we both live in Area 5 and we've both been working for the Queen. You talk as though this isn't anywhere near the first assignment you've been sent on." His deep voice reverberated around his chest; I felt it vibrating against my own chest we were so close, our feet barely moving as we danced to the music.

"It isn't, I guess from the way she spoke to you tonight she meant to make it so that we wouldn't meet. It appears she's worried that you'd steal me away from her." I flashed him another cheeky grin which was rewarded with a fangy smile and a slight chuckle. "I've never been to anything like this before. She can't have had any choice with this summit meeting."

I'd just finished speaking when we were jostled harshly and a sharp pain shot down my spine from the elbow that had landed there. At the same time I heard a voice yelling out, goading someone on and the next I was being spun around so that I could face the scuffle that had caused my pain. In the same movement I was out of Eric's arms and a snarl was growling out of his chest as he crouched down slightly in a protective stance with me standing directly behind him. From around his gigantic frame I could see two vampires squaring off, both crouched down with fangs bared and hands curved into claws, ready to draw blood. I'd never seen the vampires before, but I could tell they were young just because of the stupid actions they were taking in a crowded room.

The slightly smaller vampire flung himself forward then and Eric was no longer standing before him, instead he was wrapped around the other vampire, restraining him on the floor with his sheer size. I stepped towards them, ignoring the fact I was only human since I needed to help calm the situation down. The humans who stood around us were all on the other side of the vampires, where I couldn't hear their voices properly but in amongst them I could hear the voice that had yelled out at the beginning, the person who must have started everything. It was only when I heard another snarl and looked back that I realised I was standing between a vampire and his prey.

I had no time to move, no time to do anything but watch the vampire almost literally fly towards me with arms outstretched and I was thrown out of the way like I was no more than lint. I didn't even register my flight through the air just the pain as I collided with the floor a good ten feet away. My whole body ached but it was my cheek and forehead that stung the most, the place that felt like it had landed first. My right hand instantly went up to touch the area. It came away covered in crimson. I was bleeding, apparently heavily, in a ballroom full of vampires and my only potential ally able to help me out was still pinning down another vampire.

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**So what did you think? You know I love feedback almost as much as i love a certain viking vampire. **

**The title, This is a Tricky Situation is from the Queen song It's a Hard Life. **

**Thanks for reading. *hugs*  
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	5. I Wanna Watch You Bleed

**Hey!**

**How are you all? Good I hope. Well, at lot's happened in the past week. Classes started up, i've survived my first week of vet school! I'm finally moved back into my dorm room properly and fully, with running water, both hot and cold. I've really settled in well, really loving London and everything is going great really. Classes are difficult but i wouldn't expect anything less and with study time it's manageable, i'm understanding everything pretty well so far. I'm at home for the weekend though, going back to London sunday evening. It takes four hours though and i pretty much had nothing else to do but write or read since my study stuff was in the luggage bay and i don't have my own text books yet. **

**I want to say a really big thanks to my betas - campyrs, Bloodsucker815 and trajedy99. I only sent this to them a few days ago because as you know i've been having problems with the internet connection. It's all sorted now though so hopefully they'll have a bit more warning for the next chapter. It isn't quite finished yet though. Anyway, Charlaine Harris owns the wonderful Southern Vampire Mysteries and on with the story!**

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"Sookie, are you hurt?" Well, no shit Sherlock I thought angrily without looking up from my crimson stained hand to see who had actually spoken. _She's bleeding! _ I heard in my head through my shields that had dropped substantially due to my fall, the voice sounded oddly gleeful about current predicament. I recognised the mental signal as the person from the stairwell. My attention snapped up from my hand, the trance like state I was under broken instantly and I scanned the room for the culprit. "Sookie?" The voice I was hearing with my actual ears spoke again and I brought my eyes to land on Caleb who was kneeling down in front of me with concern etched across his face.

"What?" I asked my voice surprisingly confident even though I could feel with the hairs on the back of my neck that the vampires were paying me a little too much attention.

"Are you okay?" He inquired again, enunciating each word carefully. It was a stupid question to ask considering I had blood pouring down the side of my face from the wounds; head cuts always bleed a lot, even when the wounds is small.

"Just a head cut I think," I replied and I gave myself a mental pat on the back for sounding so polite. His eyes wound up my face and I watched as shock covered him as though he hadn't noticed the cut at all.

"Oh my, you're bleeding." His voice took on a shrill quality, fear I think, that even I hadn't used. He jumped to action then, grabbing my hand and began to pull me to my feet. "You're bleeding and we're in a room full of vampires; we've got to get out of here!" I clamped down on my mental shields and returned the grip he had on my hand, allowing myself to be pulled up.

As soon as I stood up I became aware of about ten sets of eyes watching me intently and all bloodthirsty. I scanned along every single pair, searching for a face that I recognised, someone that I could call on to help get me out of the room safely because two humans just weren't going to cut it. I found Eric restraining the vampire that had leapt first in the attack, although the other vampire appeared dishevelled as though he was being held up.

Our eyes locked then and Eric immediately dropped the other vampire, giving him a shove backwards so that another couple of the undead were forced to grab the subdued man or have him fall. Then he was walking towards me with long, purposeful strides and I felt safer already knowing that with him on my side the other vampires would have a problem getting to me when they tried.

"Do you know this guy?" Caleb asked, tugging on my right arm to get me moving but my feet were rooted to the spot, waiting for help.

"Yes," I said at the same point that I began to see bright red out of the corner of my eye. Instantly my hands went up to grab my head, applying pressure to the wound; it was worse than I thought.

"Sookie, come with me," Eric spoke in an authoritative tone as he grabbed my left elbow so that he could steer me through the still gathering crowd. It seemed we were drawing quite a crowd. "We can't stay here."

"Sookie, you can't be around vampires right now, it's not safe." Caleb tugged on my right arm again, and I could feel the wave of caution emanating from his mind.

"Thank-you, but I'll go with Eric." Before the last syllable was even out of my mouth I was pulled left by a strong arm and out of Caleb's grasp. An arm wound around my waist and then I was half carried, half walked out of the room before any of the hungry vampires could get any ideas.

By the time my feet touched the ground, enough for me to actually take a step, we were in a part of the hotel that I couldn't recognise or get back to anyway that I did know. We were essentially in an alcove along a corridor painted in a powder blue, the likes of which I hadn't seen yet in the hotel. I hadn't seen anyone while we were walking, not even any of the hotel staff and my telepathy was telling me that there were no humans around. The closest person was on the floor above and a couple of rooms behind too; we were essentially alone.

"Take your hand away, I need to see the damage," Eric said softly even though his fangs had run down. I couldn't tell whether they were elongated because of the attack or because of my blood. I hoped it was the former although I imagined he would be able to control his urges, he'd had a millennia to practice control.

"Your fangs," I mumbled quietly. I felt the need to be quiet, as though we might be overheard, even though I knew there really wasn't much chance of that happening; I still had to stay hushed.

"Both," he answered my question before I'd even really posed it and then he continued on with his explanation at my slightly perplexed expression. "The attack got me excited; the blood is keeping me excited. I don't bite." He grinned at me, showing off his perfect teeth that somehow managed to make muscles deep in my stomach tighten. Even after two years, the sight of elongated fangs on a handsome vampire got my hormones running wild.

"Well, I won't," he paused; his eyes stared at me intently before continuing with his blond eyebrows wiggling suggestively, "unless you want me to."

I didn't bother to answer; instead I removed my hand from my face and let him see the wound which was really beginning to ache with the adrenaline wearing off. It also felt like it was still oozing blood and there wasn't any bit of my hand that wasn't covered in crimson already.

"It doesn't look too bad, a few stitches if you went to the hospital. I can heal it for you." His fingertips gently traced along my hairline, brushing back loose strands so that they wouldn't get caked with blood. His cool touch was welcome and I couldn't help but lean into it slightly.

"I don't want your blood," I told him, probably more sharply than I should have and I immediately regretted the words that he wouldn't be able to put into context. "Sorry, I need to explain."

"Yes, I think you do," he replied, the grin that had decorated his face earlier had transformed into a slight flickering of his lips at the corner of his mouth. He wasn't anywhere near as angry as I'd anticipated.

"Bill, I took his blood before I even really knew who he was, I was dying, and when I realised it I could never tell whether my feelings for him were genuine or because I'd had his blood. I could go to the emergency if you think it is bad enough." I tagged the last bit on weakly. I kept my eyes downcast as well; I really didn't want to see whatever expression he currently had because I knew it wouldn't be good. I thought the explanation was strange and it was my own, but I had to stand to my ways.

"Don't worry; I can help you heal without you drinking my blood." He explained away while his hand gently grasped my chin so that he could make me look up at him and all I saw was understanding.

"How can you do that?" I'd never heard of healing without drinking the blood so the beginning of awe in my voice was true.

"I'm old Sookie, very old. Therefore my blood is powerful, I can, essentially, rub the wound with my blood. It'll heal much faster, not as fast as with ingesting blood but much faster than normally. You definitely won't need stitches and I doubt there will be a scar." He shrugged his shoulders slightly at the last bit and the motion was very strange considering one of his hands was still holding my chin.

"I didn't know that was possible."

"Yes, it's more pronounced the older you get. There are only noticeable advantages when you hit five hundred years old; or there about. I've discovered that any vampire blood helps a wound, but for about the first hundred years the only thing it will do is stop an infection afterwards." He finally withdrew his hand from my face and I instantly missed the cool contact.

"Are there any disadvantages?" I asked quietly, hoping that the side effects, because there's always down sides when it comes to supernatural things, would be small.

"You may be drawn to me," he grinned again as though he knew a secret that we shared, and I had a slightly sinking feeling that he knew I was attracted to him. "But the attraction would be much less than if you drank my blood. You would be able to tell the difference between real feelings because it wouldn't be enough to affect deeper feelings."

"Okay," I whispered and quick as a blink Eric had sunk his fangs into his right wrist, which caused blood to immediately pool into the deep penetrating wounds. He upturned his wrist so that the blood dripped onto his other hand which he moved to my forehead as soon as there was a substantial amount of blood.

It didn't hurt at all, however it wasn't exactly pleasant either; a deep itching sensation immediately took over that left me dying to scratch at the cut. Knowing that I couldn't just made it all the more worse. When I glanced up at Eric, I was surprised at the expression on his face which was what I could only describe as lustful. I'd seen the same expression on Bill many times, when I'd taken his blood when I was hurt, but this shouldn't have the same affect and yet it was still more concentrated. What surprised me more was that I liked it. I shut my eyes tightly and concentrated on taking deep, even breaths so that he wouldn't know what his mere expression was doing to me.

The itching began to ease until it was just a slight prickling sensation that wound its way down my cheeks and across under my eye. His fingers still lightly brushed along where the cut had been, though I doubted it was even looking remotely fresh anymore. Eventually all the pain disappeared except for a dull ache that settled in behind my eyes and I just knew it wasn't going away anytime soon; I needed to get some Tylenol in me. Eric's fingertips lingered for a few more seconds and then he pulled back. When I opened my eyes, slowly, there was a small smirk on Eric's face that told me he knew exactly what he was doing to me.

"How you doing?" He asked me, his voice still lilting with teasing even though it was barely above a whisper and I couldn't help but wonder whether he was doing an actual imitation or, whether it was a mere accident. I had a feeling Eric didn't have many accidents, even so I chose to ignore the possible meaning behind the words.

"Better, the actual cut doesn't hurt but I have a terrible headache." I brought my own hand up to trace where the cut had been and only found a slightly raised rough patch that I could only assume was the damaged skin that had formed some sort of scab. Nice. When I pulled my hand back, my fingertips ended up ghosting past Eric's that were still against my face, I found them still coming away covered in crimson. Of course, I should have realised he hadn't taken care of the blood. Yet.

"Do you need to go back to your room?" He sounded sincerely worried about me although his eyes were still sparkling with what I could only describe as mischief.

"No, I just need some Tylenol, a baby wipe and I'm good to go. Sophie Anne won't accept a headache for me shirking my duties."

"I have something better than Tylenol," he smirked at me from only inches away and I found that my neck was craned back so that I could really see into his brilliant blue eyes.

"What's that?" I asked after a couple of seconds during which it became obvious he wasn't going to be explaining any further without more prompting.

He didn't give me any warning, although he did move humanly slow so that I had time to pull back if I wanted to, however, I really didn't want to stop him. His lips were on mine; at first a light brushing against mine that I didn't have time to respond to but made a frustrated groan escape3 my throat in protest. My eyes fluttered open, I wasn't entirely sure when they'd shut, in time to see a smirking grin on his face before his lips were covering mine again and all that filled my word was the feeling of ours lips moving together.

One of his hands cupped my cheek, holding me steady while the other wound into my hair, twisting the thick blond strands around his fingers without tugging at all. My own hands snaked up his muscular arms; they felt good, until I could wrap them around his neck which I used to pull myself up to him. I stood on tip toes and leaned into him. Behind his soft lips I could feel hard fangs that were elongated, and every so often I could feel the very tips dragging slightly across my bottom lip and all it did was make me want more.

His tongue swept across my lips and snuck inside my mouth when I made a small gasp. In my defence it had been a very long time since I'd been kissed anything like this and I needed it. Our tongues danced together, fighting for dominance and explored each other. I found that his fangs weren't a problem when I probed into his mouth, rather they were tantalising, giving a sense of danger and I easily explored them. My tongue traced the points delicately and carefully scratched, just not quite enough to draw blood before I was thrown back into submission and Eric was kissing me.

Just as unexpected as the kiss had started, it stopped. I was still stood up on my toes and hands wrapped around his neck. I'm also pretty sure my lips were still at least a little puckered which matched my fluttering eyes as I tried to blink the world back into focus. My entire field of vision was taken up by Eric's toothy grin.

"So, how do you feel?" He asked and I could hear the laughter he was suppressing.

"What?" I replied eloquently and I pulled my eyebrows down in a frown. "I feel fine." I added on the end when I realised I hadn't really answered his question though I couldn't understand why he was asking it in the first place.

"Good." He actually chuckled then and I was still standing close enough to him that I could feel the vibrations that we were reverberating in his chest. It was at that moment that I became truly aware that I was pressed up against a vampire in an alcove of a strange hotel where we could be discovered at any moment; I hadn't exactly been paying attention to my telepathy.

I extricated myself from his powerful arms and took a step back so that his scent was no longer washing over me with every breath and I found that I could think properly, though I still couldn't fully comprehend why he'd asked if I was okay.

"We should get you to your room." He turned around partially and offered me his arm like an English gentleman, complete with a flourish.

"I have to go back to the party," I told him after I'd already linked my arm through his. "The Queen will expect me to return." I could have sworn I actually heard him sigh then but I didn't dare ask and it was over in half a second.

"Let me worry about the Queen, you're pretty much healed but you need to sleep, you said you still," he stopped speaking abruptly as though he was going to tell me something he wasn't supposed to. If he was human he would have blushed, as it was, a slight crinkling around his still sparkling eyes was the only indication that he might possibly be embarrassed.

"I still what?" My mind cleared considerably when I realised he was holding something back from me and I managed to infuse a lot of heat into my voice. I wasn't angry, not yet, but I had a lot of energy from that kiss.

"Never mind, I can take care of Sophie Anne though." He shrugged his shoulders as though it would be no big deal and started walking down the corridor in the same direction we'd come. Since we were connected I had no choice but to walk with him.

"She outranks you," I was about to say more when his phone began to ring with the sound of one of Kuhlau's sonatinas, it was an odd choice for him but for all I knew he'd met the guy. Before I could take the thought further he reached into an inside breast pocket and snapped the phone open, bringing it to his ear in the same movement.

"Yes. Fine. Yes. Two minutes." He shut the phone again with the sound of plastic breaking somewhere and thrust it angrily back into his pocket, this time his pants' pocket. He'd never broke stride while he was on the phone, the exchange had lasted only a few seconds, but now he slowed down. "The Queen requires your presence at the party, there's a group of vampires she wants you to meet."

We walked the rest of the way back to the ballroom in comfortable silence. I revelled in the true quiet that his presence afforded me; vampire minds seemed to muffle human brains and their cool calmness makes it easier to maintain my shields. He adjusted his long strides to match mine and he kept the slower pace so that I could keep up, even in my high heels.

"Oh, one more thing," he said as he paused when we rounded the corner to the conference room and were just beside the double doors that lead into the ball. From inside the room we couldn't be seen yet; we could still see a few feet into the room which meant that we could see if we were going to be walked upon.

"Yes?" I asked while turning to face him and keeping my arm looped through his. He never gave me a verbal reply though; instead he placed his thumb on my lips and held it there, unmoving until I spoke. Before I'd even got one word out though the tip of his thumb was in my mouth and it was my instinctual reaction to pucker my lips around him, in an almost kiss. A smirk played out across his handsome face to match my look of shock. Quickly he pulled back and his hand swept up to my face where he rubbed his damp thumb gently across my forehead, taking away the blood that had been left, the rest had flaked off already. Before my eyes he brought his thumb up to his own lips and sucked my blood, making sure he got every little drop. He even gave an appreciative groan which made the muscles deep in my stomach tighten at the thought of where else I might hear that moan.

"You are delicious, exquisite," he murmured before turning around and acting like nothing had happened.

He began to walk towards the door but he'd gone less than a step when he found out that I wasn't moving, instead I was staring up at him with nothing but confused emotions warring inside me. He glanced back at me, and the smirk that hadn't dimmed grew brighter. He leaned forward, tugging slightly and I began to walk alongside him. I'd only just schooled my face enough, helped by years of practice, into a bland expression by the time we walked through the open doors and we came face to face with a roomful of vampires.

I couldn't see Sophie Anne anywhere so it was lucky that Eric was able to steer me in the right direction even though he wasn't standing as close as he had been outside. His posture had changed too, instead of seemingly relaxed, the tension thrummed through him and the muscles in his forearms that I could feel under my hand were clenched. We made our way slowly, weaving through the crowd, to the second conference room where I assumed the Queen was waiting for us.

When we cleared the doors I finally saw her; a figure dressed in a pristine white ball gown that trailed down to the floor in a swath of sweeping fabric. Behind her, arranged in a half circle, were the vampires that made up the Southern state's group and were acting as bodyguards. I was relieved to see that the Queen's second, Andre wasn't in sight and it led me to hope that he wouldn't be here at all. I was beginning to really believe that someone had something against me and having Andre here would just make it a more horrid a situation. I was also the only human with the group; and the fewer vampires that I was surrounded by the better it was when it wasn't my choice of company.

In front of the Queen's group were about five people, all with their backs to me and all of them were males. I kept my mental shields clamped down because I could tell that one of them was a human and they were beginning to gather quite an interest from the surrounding people. These people were standing in a line as though they were passing before the Queen. Eric didn't seem to mind what they were doing though and he walked us straight up to the queen where he promptly, yet still with a lot of grace, dropped my arm. He left my side, gliding the few paces required to cover the distance and bent down to whisper something in the Queen's ear. She laughed heartily before turning her attention towards me; the corners of her lips were twisted up in a sadistic smile.

The entire little scenario had me cringing about what had just transpired between Eric and me. I couldn't believe I'd forgotten they were together, I wasn't sure of the nature of their relationship; it was definitely strange but there was a definite fire between them. I was beginning to really think that they weren't together in the romantic sense; romantic relationships between two vampires were rare and there wasn't anything that I'd seen that would say they even liked each other. Still, it wouldn't be good for the Sherriff to be getting with the Queen's telepath.

"This is Sookie Stackhouse, human with our group," the Queen introduced me to the other vampires and I couldn't help but notice the contempt that dripped from her voice when she said human. I turned to face the other vampires and found that I'd actually seen them all before, even though I didn't personally know them. I didn't bother speaking up; they didn't expect me to although I did spare a smile for Caleb who was the human. These vampires made up the northern states apparently.

Caleb moved from where he was standing, in the centre of his group to the side where he motioned for me to move along with him. Soon we were standing close enough to our groups to show that we were accompanying them but far enough away that we could actually whisper to each other without getting glared at.

"How are you? There's barely a mark there," he stated quite happily with a definite element of awe in his voice and his hand was bobbing in the air as though he was trying to resist the urge to run his fingers over the nonexistent cut.

"I'm good thanks, Eric sorted the cut out for me, I didn't even know they could do that, heal you without drinking their blood," I replied quietly, standing close to Caleb so that I would be able to hear him.

"It's certainly worked."

"What's going on here?" I asked him after a few seconds during which we'd simply watched the vampires talking since we couldn't actually hear them.

"They're talking about a possible trade off of resources; I thought I caught your name though before you arrived." He shrugged his shoulders, showing that he didn't know anymore.

"Miss Stackhouse," a vampire called me. It was one of the men that I'd only seen, never spoken to, and I suddenly understood why. His fierce eyes and strong, sharp features identified him as one of the vampires that had been brawling earlier. More specifically, he was the vampire that had been held down by Eric and a quick glance at Eric's stony face indicated that he recognised him as well.

"Yes?" I answered politely, hoping that my face was schooled enough to show that I wasn't angry.

"Are you a telepath?" He asked without any warning and getting straight to the point. The only reason I didn't blurt out something that would have given me away was that I was used to, sadly, having to pretend about pretty much every factor of my life, to at least someone.

"No." I stated clearly and confidently and thankfully my voice sounded much more confident than I actually felt. I was a wreck with panic that was swirling about inside me; no one had told me explicitly to hide who I was but I knew I wasn't supposed to exactly broadcast it. I thought lying would be the best way forward at this point. The vampire stared at me for a couple seconds longer and then turned back to the Queen, dismissing me silently.

"What was that about?" Caleb asked quietly, leaning down so that he could whisper in my ear. His warm breath, which was oddly strange against my skin, tickled slightly.

"I'm not sure," I replied back just as quietly and I flecked my gaze toward him, finding that there was a strange look on his face, one that said he wasn't quite trusting the situation playing out in front of him.

"Are you a telepath?" He asked softly as he laid his hand on my forearm and I got a blanket of curiosity straight from his mind as it cut through my shields from the contact. Strangely I didn't get any definite thoughts.

"No," I whispered back and I hated to lie because the change in his mind was instantaneous; it was as though he knew I was lying right to his face.

"Okay then," he nodded, gave my arm a squeeze and then pulled back.

"You are dismissed," the Queen said idly to me, barely even moving her gaze toward me and she even included a little wave. It did at least save me from Caleb's questions; I didn't want him to know, he was the only human I'd really met here and people didn't tend to take the news of my telepathy well.

"I'll see you tomorrow, breakfast?" Caleb asked me before I had chance to turn around and I nodded, accompanied by a smile before I began walking towards the exit doors.

I'd barely gone five paces out of the main conference room doors into the lobby when a hand touched my waist, long fingers wrapping gently around my hip.

"Argh!" I yelped and began to pull back, extricating myself from the grip while earning a few disgusted looks from the people milling around.

"It's me pretty woman," a deep voice told me and even through my shock I could hear the laughter at my surprise. I relaxed instantly even though I could still feel my heart thudding dangerously fast in my chest and I spun around as much as I was able to find Eric standing beside me. "You don't escape that easily."

"Why are you following me?" I asked him as we began to walk toward the elevators again; his hand never wavered from my waist.

"You are too much fun to not be around."

"What's that supposed to mean?" There was an edge to my voice and I couldn't make my mind up whether it was all in good fun or whether there really was a bit of annoyance in there too. It was not good to be considered fun by vampires; I'd learned that the hard way.

"You have a nose for trouble, being around you is infinitely more fun than being in there. Do you know what they're discussing right now?" The elevator doors slid open and we stepped inside, breaking apart for the couple of seconds it took us to get turned around.

"With what I got asked, whether I really am a telepath," I replied and I let all of the exasperation of being the topic of conversation again into my voice, which made it have a gruffer edge than normal.

"Half right," Eric conceded, giving my waist a slight squeeze before he continued, "they're also discussing loaning you out if it is true. The Queen hasn't said anything explicitly but the other group knows you have some form of telepathic gift. The northern states want to borrow you for something during the summit."

"So when they asked me if I was a telepath, they were seeing if I could be appropriately quiet about my talent."

"Essentially yes," he agreed along with a nod of the head that sent his long blonde hair waving down his back. It really was a remarkable shade.

"So it isn't just random events?" I sighed loudly, folding my arms over my chest. Eric didn't bother to verbally question me, instead he simply raised his eyebrows and I'm sure it would have made his subordinates ramble. For me however, it made me sigh again before continuing on with my thoughts. "Someone really does want me; it's not just an idle thought. That probably means that the stairway incident wasn't just a random member of the fellowship."

"Guardians of the Day," Eric corrected me and I remembered that they were indeed the English version of the Fellowship of the Sun.

"Right, a random Guardian making an attempt to take anyone who associated with vampires. What about the vampires fighting, with me caught up in the middle of it? That seems plausible either way." I was cut off abruptly as the elevator doors opened to reveal a member of the staff waiting to get in and I realised, when Eric's hand stopped me, that we weren't at my floor yet.

"Good evening," the cleaner; was what the tag around his neck indicated him to be said politely as he stepped into the elevator.

"Evening," I replied politely while Eric didn't even bother to acknowledge him. The next three floors were painfully awkward, spent in quietness with only the sound of breathing breaking the silence. Eventually we reached my floor and we quickly shuffled off into the corridor and we kept our silence until the elevator had safely closed its doors.

"Well, this is me," I whispered dumbly. My heart began to race again in my chest and butterflies started flapping their wings in my stomach; I was reacting as though this was some form of date and I was expecting a kiss. After the moment we'd shared in the corridor earlier I was really hoping for another kiss. Having had millennia to practice his technique, it really did show and I was willing to reap the rewards of all his practice.

"I know," he grinned at me. Heat flushed my face and I spun around to hide away from him, using the guise of unlocking my door using the electronic key card.

"I have a question for you," I started out and I dared to look up into his sparkling blue eyes that were alive with, well life.

"And what is that?" He asked, his voice full of teasing joy and I knew he was enjoying this little situation entirely too much.

"I need to know, are you and Sophie Anne together?" His face broke out into a brilliant grin that lit up his eyes and a deep rumbling chuckle emanated from his chest that made his shoulders visibly shake.

"Let's see if this answers that question." Suddenly his lips were on mine once more. We moved together instantly and his tongue flickered out to meet mine. My hands went up to grip his chest, feeling the hard muscles underneath my fingers and I poured more fervour into the kiss. Then, just as quickly as it had started he pulled back. "No, I most definitely am not with Sophie Anne." He wiggled his eyebrows at me a few times before turning on his heel and walked down the corridor, his deep laughter echoing down the hallway which left me standing in the doorway thinking about what had just happened. I had no idea where our actions left us and now I also had a headache. I had a sinking feeling that the headache had been there because of the tension strain created from my worrying thoughts.

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**So what did you think? You know I love feedback almost as much as I love a certain Viking vampire :) Thanks for the all the reviews that have been coming through and all the favourite story/alerts too, makes me feel appreciated and it all the more worthwhile to write. **

**The title, I Wanna Watch You Bleed is from the song Welcome to the Jungle by Guns n' Roses**

**Thanks guys and have a good weekend  
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	6. Kiss Me You Animal

**Hey guys,**

**how are you all doing? Good I hope. I'm doing well, though i do have freshers flu which is actually a standard cold, but otherwise i'm great. Started yoga class up again today which felt fantastic though I think i'll be feeling it tomorrow. My classes are fantastic and i'm really enjoying the course. **

**I want to say a really big thank-you to my betas campyrs, bloodsucker815 and trajedy99 who have done wonders. I really wouldn't be able to do this without them and i know i didn't give them much time again this week. **

**Well, on with the chapter, it's fairly long but i think you'll enjoy it :) **

**Oh, and Charlaine Harris owns the wonderful Southern Vampire Mysteries.**

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When I awoke the following morning I was pleased to find that my headache had disappeared entirely and, when I checked in the mirror, I could hardly see the mark where my cut had been. It definitely wouldn't scar. I could however, feel tension pooling in my mind as my head cleared of sleep. I had so many questions and so few answers. I still didn't know where I stood with Eric and I doubted I would be getting a straightforward answer out of him any time soon. It was strange, he seemed a very abrupt, straightforward man with anything except his feelings or anything remotely related to emotions. I had a feeling that was more vampire than the man himself though; they all seemed to have some form of emotional issue.

It wasn't my Eric issues I was considering though when Caleb sat down beside me at the little breakfast table I'd snagged in the surprisingly busy restaurant. Instead I'd been thinking about my safety and the fact that I just had to realise there was someone out there, vampire and human, that wanted me to work for them, or possibly something else. If I thought along the something else lines though, it wouldn't do well at all for my nerves so I just accepted I wouldn't be considering all of the possibilities. Caleb walking in at that point brought the realisation I was still feeling something off about him, even though he'd been nothing but nice to me overall and I hadn't heard anything malicious from him.

"Hey Caleb," I greeted him and nodded as he indicated the chair opposite me, silently assuring him he could take the seat.

"Good morning Miss Stackhouse, how are you feeling today?" His eyes roamed over my forehead, searching for any sign of the cut that I'd gotten when his vampires had started scuffling. He didn't find anything, I managed to get that much from his brain and after I'd battened down the hatches of my shields some more I felt it safe enough to answer him.

"I'm doing fine thanks, how about you?" The waiter arrived with my breakfast at that point, scrambled eggs and bacon with a gorgeously steaming mug of coffee, and Caleb ordered.

"I'm good as well. Do you fancy going exploring with me this morning?" It was scarcely still morning, half an hour later and I wouldn't have been able to order breakfast but I didn't think it would be polite to say anything, even though the chances of us making it out of the hotel before afternoon were scanty.

"That sounds interesting," I conceded as going out and exploring sounded like a wonderful idea, plus I wanted to see the sun. "Where are you thinking of going?" Caleb's meal arrived then; simple marmalade on toast.

"Westminster area, I want to see the houses of parliament, see how they compare to what we have."

I grinned at him and swallowed before I spoke up, "Okay, but only if we go to Westminster Abbey while we're in the area."

"That's fine." It was strange, I'd almost grown used to Caleb's odd aura for lack of a better word, but I wasn't getting anything from his mind that made me mistrust him. There was the usual tingling at the base of my neck that told me there was something off but that was all and I still couldn't put my finger on it.

So half an hour later after a truly delicious breakfast and gathering the things we needed from our respective rooms we wandered out of a side entrance that a member of staff kindly pointed out. We managed to avoid the Guardians who we could hear milling around on the street and heckling anybody that seemed to show any form of interest in the hotel. It was only then that I realised we'd have to travel on the tube to get there easily and it would be the first time I'd traversed the tube.

The journey wasn't anywhere as bad as I'd expected; it was warm, windy and crowded but I'd experienced worse and, as soon as I'd gotten myself seated down the time passed surprisingly quickly since there was so much to do. I people watched, though I kept my shields locked down as strongly as possible, I read the notices and made mental notes of all the things I wanted to see such as the musicals.

"So, you're really a telepath?" He asked while we were walking down the sidewalk, or rather the pavement, from the underground station to Westminster Abbey which was ideally situated just beside the houses of Parliament and therefore Big Ben. The London eye was just across the river, if I walked up to the bridge I could see that along with the aquarium. There was so much I wanted to see and I knew I wouldn't get a chance to see most of it. Caleb's question however I had expected, had been expecting since breakfast actually.

"Yes, I really am. Though don't get that confused with psychic, I can't read anything into the future," I giggled, trying to make light of the conversation, especially since we were surrounded by people although I could tell just by their general mental signatures that they weren't paying any attention to us.

"Okay then, how powerful are you?" The question was at least a little expected and I dropped my shields slightly to see his intentions. I came up against a wall though, no distinct thoughts formed themselves out of the jumble and I could only perceive a general wave of curiosity. It was that simple wave that made me give him an actual answer since he appeared to be free of malice. I still couldn't shuck the odd feelings though but I quelled my instincts because like I'd said just moments before; I wasn't psychic.

"I can only read humans properly and vampires I can't read at all." I hoped he would get what I'd inferred about shifters; we were in public and shifters hadn't come out of the closet yet.

"Can you read me?" He turned his head to look at me, making full eye contact which was only possible because we were waiting at a cross walk.

"Not clearly," I started out and I was hit by such a strong mental wave of relief that I clamped my shields down again. I expanded in hopes of easing the edge of worry that had quickly followed the relief. "I can only get impressions really, no actual words or picture thoughts." I grinned at him, my nervous high wattage smile. It last only a split second as I realised my plan had backfired; worry had taken over now with snippets of panic.

"Sorry, it's just a tad disconcerting," he replied and our conversation was broken at that point by the green man alerting us that we could cross safely.

"When I looked up I got my first glimpse of Westminster Abbey. The front rose up and up until I was craning my neck to see the top precipices properly and I found myself gasping in true awe. London was history, this proved it, older than what I'd seen and this was a true monument to religion. The architecture was astounding and the detail, I realised as I got closer, was just as impressive as the overall effect. The arches built into the masonry were truly beautiful and even had little carvings for decoration. Before I knew what I was doing, I'd brought my camera, which had been a Christmas present from my brother, up to my eye to capture the gorgeous building.

"Wow," I whispered, snapping another shot which was of the small recessed area to the side of the main doors.

"I know," Caleb replied from much closer than I'd anticipated. "Have you ever seen anything like this before?"

"Nope," I answered truthfully and popping the p to turn the word into two syllables. This put the little community church I frequented, though not as much anymore compared to a few years ago, to shame. "It makes me want to see St Paul's Cathedral even more."

"Come on then Sookie, we can go inside!" Caleb laughed after he'd studied my face for a second and then he was pulling me forward towards the main doors that were suspiciously shut. "Oh," he added when we got closer, having noticed the doors himself.

"Its shut," I whispered, feeling deflated when we'd moved forward a few more steps toward the doors, close enough to read the sign.

"It opens again in an hour; we can hang around if you want to see inside."

"Okay then, please, if you don't mind."

We were finally heading back, after much longer than a mere hour, to Westminster Abbey, also called the Collegiate Church of St Peter and after spotting a beautiful bride walking into the small chapel just to the side when my phone rang. A deep sense of foreboding washed over me; the only people with my number were the hotel and my vampire group. It couldn't be good if either one of them were calling me. The sensation was only heightened when I saw 'withheld number' flash across the screen.

"Hello?" I asked cautiously.

"Sookie Stackhouse?" As confirmations went it seemed a little stupid to be giving a full name; what were the chances of another Sookie picking up the phone even if they had dialled a wrong number.

"Yes, who is this?" Caleb gave me a questioning look at that and took a step towards me.

"Eric Northman." He didn't give me a chance to give him a friendlier greeting; instead he barrelled straight on with what he had to tell me. "The Queen requests your presence at a first dark meeting, you are to be at the hotel earlier and wear the clothes that she believes will be fitting. You are not to tell anyone else of your telepathy, it is too risky." I groaned internally, partly at his actual words and the emotionless way he was speaking to me.

"When she says early, what time does she mean?"

"Approximately 4 o clock."

"Shit," I said without thinking and my hand automatically covered my mouth. It was a reaction to his news, it just wasn't very lady like and I didn't particularly admire swearing. His reaction though was the first sign of his real personality shining through; he laughed, a deep rumbling chuckle.

"Why is it so bad Sookie?" His accent was more pronounced than I'd heard it before. When I remembered the time I understood that it was because he was so tired, even from someone as old as him being up this hour would be quite a strain.

"I'm at Westminster Abbey; I'll have to head straight back now because of the tube works and the unpredictable schedule." I didn't mention it was also because I didn't trust myself to not get lost. "I haven't actually been inside yet."

"You want to see the tourist spots?" Even over the phone his tone implied he was disbelieving.

"Yes, of course, I've never been to London before, hell I've never left the United States before. I doubt I'm ever going to come back, so yes, I want to see the sights."

"Okay." He paused for a second, an awkward silence that was only broken by my breathing. "I will see you at six o clock." Then a shrill, continuous beep sounded, indicating that he'd hung up. I don't think I'd ever get used to the telephone manners of vampires.

"What's that?" Caleb asked quietly.

"I have to get back, official duties." I replied and I took one last photograph of the Abbey before walking back towards the station, Caleb in tow; he'd decided to at least accompany me back although he hadn't yet decided whether he was going to stay in the hotel. So it was with a slightly depressed air around me that I started the return journey.

"Why did I ever get in with vampires?" I asked myself while looking in the mirror in the bedroom at the outfit I was wearing. The answer of course was because of their mental silence, their most desirable trait to me which was demonstrated momentarily when a tall figure loomed in my doorway. I'd never heard his physical approach and his mind had remained blank. I was however quite pleased to see him, more so than I probably should have been.

I took one more glance at my reflection; overall I supposed I looked quite smart and professional, however it really wasn't me that I was seeing. I was wearing a pants suit of a deep charcoal grey that appeared almost black depending on the lighting with a pale cream or white, I couldn't decide which, blouse underneath that was entirely too see through for the rest of the ensemble. Black kitten heel pumps finished off the outfit though I actually found them more difficult to walk in than higher heels so I really wasn't keen. I wanted to be back in my more usual jeans and comfortable jumper, I'd even settle for my usual Merlotte's uniform. Eric however, didn't appear to be having any of the doubts that I was if the rather toothy smile he was showing me was any indication.

"What?" I asked as I finally turned around, realising I was infusing too much of my internal frustration into my voice. I really was pleased to see Eric and none of this was his fault, if anything he was the good guy of the situation. However, I still wasn't entirely sure whether vampires actually _could_ be good guys.

"I came to take you to the Queen's chambers; it seems you aren't in a good mood though. What's wrong?" I raised an eyebrow at him in speculation at his question. "I don't know why but I feel like I actually want to know the answer." It seemed like a fairly genuine answer, he did appear slightly startled at his own words though. Now just wasn't the time to get into it.

"Nothing, I'm fine." I attempted breezy; I don't think I made it.

"Okay, I'm picking up on bullshit here." I burst out laughing at that statement, there wasn't any helping it. At seeing his barely smiling face I quickly sobered up.

"I'm tired of doing this," I waved my arms around to indicate I meant the entire situation with nothing specifically.

"Surely there are some perks," he replied and took a few steps closer to me so he could discretely usher me toward the door.

"Well, I got to see London," I started out, purposefully ignoring the implication he'd given. I had to admit that meeting Eric had been a perk, even if it was just because of that kiss. "I just don't get to see as much of it as I wanted." I shook my head and locked the door behind us, after which we began walking in silence down the corridor towards the Queen's rooms.

I'm not going to bother going into detail about what the Queen said, it essentially boils down to; don't speak unless spoken to, indicate if someone is lying and remain silent about your telepathy even if asked. So less than half an hour later we entered one of the smaller conference room, one that hadn't even been deemed big enough to hold part of the ball from last night and we all took our seats around one half of a circular table. There was a three foot gap between our table and the other which was a direct mirror image. The other vampires had already taken their seats and I found that I didn't recognise a single one of them which I couldn't decide whether that was good or bad.

They didn't bother with any preamble which surprised me; vampires tended to like flourishes at events like these. I was seated at the end of the table, closest to the human with the other group who I would be able to read. At vampire only events I wouldn't be needed at all; they were still blank to me.

"Sophie Anne, we would like to petition you for use of your land in the north of the state. We have a ranch in southern Arkansas which we use for respite and holidays for all vampires in our group that have earned it. We need to expand and the best way forward is south. We will of course pay you." This really wasn't what I was expecting at all but I let the words skim over my head, barely taking in their meaning and instead I focused entirely on the only other human brain in the room. It sounded like it was screaming at me; the thoughts were so loud since they were amplified by the complete silence of the vampires that surrounded us.

_It really is wonderful in Arkansas_. His words here were interrupted by flashing images of the scenery and the house as he took a mental walk through of the estate they were talking about. It was the images that followed that made my cheeks tint crimson and I had to fight to keep my reaction down. There were things that some people just had to keep quiet and think to themselves, to be fair to the man who's head I was invading. So I clamped down on some of my shields, blocking out the visuals and I concentrated on his words instead. _We need to get a bigger place, we can't all fit in and the plans that we have just won't be kept up. Man, I need to get back there. They say they'll station me there. I wonder if Craig will be there._ And on and on his thoughts wandered, not taking any determined path, or so it seemed, giving snippets of information that didn't lead anywhere.

"Which parts of the state are you considering?" Eric's deep voice came out louder than the previous whispering as my group discussed the news.

"Claiborne. We wouldn't be encroaching on your land much, perhaps a hundred acres which would allow us to hunt animals in the area and build a few more huts and bolt holes."

"Who's leadership would you follow?" This question was asked by Sophie Anne, her high pitched voice rang out across the gap between the tables easily and it set off a little stir of murmuring amongst our fellows. It was so low I couldn't distinguish anything, couldn't even pick up which vampire was talking, what I could get though was the human version.

_More like two hundred acres! _He laughed internally at that and I got a brief flicker of a plan for some buildings which were low but large, taking advantage of the tree cover that would grow in that area so the vampires would have even more protection from deadly sunlight. Then I saw something I was really interested in, a huge map of the entire estate and how they wanted it to look after the new addition but it was gone before I could really see anything.

I blocked everything else in the room out, I know it probably wasn't the most sensible idea to do in a room full of vampires, but it was what I had to do to do my job. I stared down at what would appear to be the table top, instead I was focusing intently on the man, Dan, sat in front of me. I stared at his hands which were resting on top of his table, fingers interlaced. Eye contact really helped, but it wasn't entirely necessary and it gave me focus about his being, I could see him, mark exactly where he was. I shut most of my shields down, so that there was absolutely no background noise from any human passing the conference room doors, it was solely his head that existed, almost to the extent where I couldn't hear my own thoughts. Almost.

I grasped, it's the only way I can think to describe it, a thought that was coming out of his head, about something specific that went on while the estate was in the planning stages. I used that thought to climb into his head, deep inside to where he kept all his thoughts and I searched through the tangle of thoughts that never quite made it into an idea until I could pull him in a certain direction. I pulled us back to the plan for the estate, the one that had flickered through his mind, and made him focus simply by following his mind through the process of seeing it again. That's where I got my information from.

_Huh. That chick is weird, human too. Doesn't look like a walking snack though unless they bite somewhere else. Oh, I want that room to be made. Perhaps we could invite these vampires to join us; perhaps she would join us in the sauna. Or maybe the swimming pool that's in the same building, which is built underneath all those human rooms. See! I told you it's more than a hundred square acres. We need the space though. Can't go around trapping Weres with not enough room, they need to be able to run. Attempt to run anyway. Damn, the vampires are always so horny after they hunt. Provides a good place to hide everything really. Their Weres, the drugs. Oh, I hope they give me some more after this. I need some more. Fuck, I need some blood, fresh from the source. _

Without even realising what I was doing, I was too busy focusing on Dan's mind and figuring out as much as I could. I gently laid my left hand down on the vampire who was sat beside me. I squeezed his arm, the signal that something was wrong. I'm not entirely sure what response I was expecting but I didn't expect a jotter note pad to be slid along to me with a pen placed carefully on top.

_What's up with that freak?_ An image of me popped up in his head and I saw myself as clearly as if I was looking in a mirror; neck craned downward with muscles standing out from strain and my eyes glazed over but continuing to stare down at his hands. _Bet she's on V too, taking too much, or not enough! _He laughed internally and I knew I'd lost the control I'd had over his mind. My head snapped up and I was sucked back into true reality with all the white noise that came with it; my shields had dropped as much as they possibly can when I was fully conscious and I could hear people walking past, the bored bar tender in the stock room that shared a wall with the conference room.

I concentrated on my breathing, returning it to a more normal rhythm; in through the nose, out through the mouth. I repeated the mantra over and over in my head, and I felt calm wash over me slowly and with it, my shields went back up, blocking off my mind from the rest of the world. I could feel several pairs of eyes on me and they weren't all coming from my group; it seemed the other vampires had noticed something was wrong with me.

I picked up the pen and scrawled out a brief over view of what I'd heard, not explaining how and passed it back. My eyes flickered closed for a few seconds until I was in complete control of my own mental shields again and when I opened them, no one was paying any attention to me. Well, one person was I discovered when I glanced around the room.

Eric's brilliantly intelligent blue eyes were gazing at me intently, a slight expression of intrigue was written across his face even though he'd maintained his body posture of seemingly looking forward. His long pale hair was pulled back in a twist at the base of his neck letting me see his handsome face in full, unobstructed profile.

"What's the real reason for you wanting to encroach on my land? I have reason to believe you have been lying," Sophie Anne asked the room at large, not speaking to any individual vampire and her voice wanted to make you believe that butter wouldn't melt in her mouth.

"We want to expand our estate and the best way is to the South. Our vampires on your land would of course abide by your rules." Sophie Anne didn't bother replying to him straight away, instead she flickered her gaze toward me, the movement breaking my eye contact with Eric instantly. I gave her a brief nod, the indication that I was completely sure that what I'd garnered was the truth. It was always difficult for me to believe that vampires tended to treat me like rubbish, with no respect at least in standard situations and then as soon as they were using my telepathy they trusted my every word.

Eric's gaze was trained forward when I was able to glance at him again and I could see the muscles of his neck standing out slightly in stress; he was tense for some reason.

"You are not permitted to build on my land, if you petition again the same answer will be given. If I hear of you petitioning any other state I will see to it that they know of your real plans. The blood we might have been able to overlook for a price, the Weres however already prove too much trouble for us. You will keep all associations with Weres silent from me, mine and off my land." As soon as the last syllable was out of her dainty little mouth Sophie Anne regally stood up and swept from the room, all the vampires essentially scrambling to follow in her wake.

I stood up; feeling drained both physically and mentally, so that I could follow the retreating vampires. I was the last in our group to exit the room but I was left on my own. There was a certain giant of a Viking standing, waiting for me, just out of sight from inside the conference room. He easily fell into pace beside me and he didn't say a word to me until we were out of earshot of the vampires we'd left behind.

"The Queen suspects something. Go to your room, dress in something warm, I will be waiting for you in the lobby in five minutes." He nodded his head at me telling me silently to just accept his statement and then he was gone, leaving me standing alone near the bank of elevators that could take me up to my room.

Four minutes later I was standing in the foyer of the hotel, searching the loitering people for a tall figure amongst them. I'd taken true heed of his word and had gone up to my room, foot tapping impatiently on the base of the elevator all the way up, and I'd quickly changed into some black jeans, boots and a dark blue jumper that was both form fitting and snugly. I'd grabbed my jacket on the way out of the door, almost forgetting it, and hoping it would be alright; it wasn't exactly formal. I finally spotted Eric, talking to the concierge who had his own little desk just in front of the massive reception desk. Even from across the room I could tell he was dressed more formally than me and I was hit by a wave of apprehension.

I made my legs walk across the marble floor toward him and I desperately tried to control my heart beat. I was still calming down fully from what had happened in the meeting, seeing things that I really didn't want to see was never pleasant and, it had horrible effects on me sometimes. It still unnerved me when I took control of someone's mind like that and I had to hope that nobody would pay too much attention to my methods.

"Sookie," Eric greeted me and I'd been so deep in thought I hadn't realised he'd started walking to meet me. "You look," he paused here to think of an appropriate word yet he settle for wiggling his eyebrows and giving me a toothy grin. "Come with me," he said quietly so no one idly listening around us could hear. His hand went to my lower back again and I could feel his cool flesh through the sweater; my jacket was still folded across my arm.

I studied him in my peripheral vision; his hair was now hanging freely and rippled down his shoulder with every step, he wore a simple black button down shirt open over a black vest and black jeans. From the way that other women were looking at him, I managed to get the impression from them even with my shields solidly up, that his butt looked mighty fine in them. He led me to a door that I hadn't noticed before near the bank of elevators which led to a dimly lit hallway with what appeared to be service closets leading off in every direction. There, at the end of the corridor, was a green neon sign exclaiming it to be an emergency exit, also marked for employees.

"Where are we going?" I asked quietly, the dim lighting and no other noise made it impossible for me to speak at a normal volume.

"You'll see when we get there," he replied back, whispering straight into my ear which sent a little shiver running down my spine.

Then we were outside, somewhere around the back of the building, with a rather strange bicycle waiting for us apparently. Eric nodded at the young man on the bicycle but didn't actually say a word to him; he appeared to already have his instructions. I was beginning to really worry about what we were going to be doing, I hadn't really given that much thought in the hotel, I'd been more concerned with where we were going and getting out of the building. Putting the Queen's questions off would only delay the inevitable but I was all for delaying, especially if it involved a certain pair of lips on my own.

Eric stood next to the buggy part, where there were cushioned seats with enough room for two, although with the size of the man who was joining me, it would be a very snug fit. Suddenly I wasn't as interested in where we going but rather how long it would take us to get there. My petite hand fit inside his larger one and with his other hand on my hip I was seated down before I'd really contemplated how I was going to manoeuvre. Ever the graceful immortal, Eric sat beside me; the length of his thigh was pressed along mine, though his knee stuck out a few more inches than mine. I could feel his cool presence beside me, his mental blackness, and it was so relaxing to be close to a mental null. My eyelids flickered closed and I sighed with relief; even the 'driver' in front wasn't invading my mind.

"What are you doing?" He whispered into my ear, the breath that he only used for speaking, ticked the sensitive skin and I felt Goosebumps rise across my neck. My eyes snapped open and I turned my head sharply toward him, yet he hadn't moved back and I came within an inch of his face. "Why did you close your eyes?" He asked again, leaning in even further so that his lips brushed my cheek as he spoke.

"I was relaxing," I replied quietly, feeling my heart thumping in my chest due to his close proximity and I couldn't tear my eyes away from his. "Vampires minds are amazingly quiet," I added on for further explanation.

His response was a light chuckle and then he pulled away, turning his head to face forward before pulling back at all. The effect was him tracing his lips gently over mine which just left me breathless with a deep desire to sigh out of frustration. He knew exactly what he was doing though; there was a smirk across his face which only grew bigger when he turned to look at me again.

"In the meeting, what were you doing?" He asked after giving me a second to try and compose myself. I hadn't achieved it, my eyes had continued to stare at his lips but his words brought me back down to Earth with a jolt.

"Reading his mind," I answered automatically. I kept my voice low although I didn't think the driver would be able to hear us even if he wanted to. I paid no attention to the sights we were passing or even in which direction we were travelling in; I could hear traffic and I could tell we stopped at what I assumed were traffic lights but I didn't look up.

"You did more than that Sookie, you were too concentrated. I know when you're listening to thoughts."

"How can you know that? You've never seen me working before."

"I'm a good observer and you're interesting to look at." It wasn't exactly a compliment, neither was it an insult, so I made the best of the situation and decided to take it that it meant something good. "When you're listening to someone else's thoughts you get this distant glaze over your eyes. This evening you were staring intently, not in that room with us at all. At one point you were visibly shaking with energy, with power. I could almost smell it."

"Shit," I implored with a lot of emotion packed into that one little word. All he did in response was raise his blond eyebrows up at me. "Could the others tell? Was it just you? What about Sophie Anne, you said she had questions." I was tired all over again and I sagged against Eric's shoulder which didn't move at all, instead it remained as immovable as stone under my weight.

"No, she's clueless. She believes as Queen nothing will stop her, it probably hasn't crossed her mind to question your power. She was oblivious to you in that room apart from when you gave the signal. I don't think anyone but that other human took any notice." I was safe, at least for now. "What were you doing?" He asked again, turning slightly in his seat so that he could look me square in the face and read my eyes.

"I don't think I can tell you," I replied quietly with my eyes downcast. His hand immediately shot up and cupped my chin gently, pulling my face up until I met his gaze.

"Why not?" His tone was infused with equal parts confusion and indignance.

"I'm scared," I replied honestly. "I can't tell you here anyway. No one knows, I'll tell you when I can." I promised, hoping it would be enough. He continued to stare at me for a few seconds before nodding his head slowly.

"Okay. I'll protect you, you have my word." I believed him, with every fibre of my being I believed that he would protect me as much as he was able to. He was the type of man that would never go back on his word, especially not to a woman. He wouldn't have any problem with just saying no if he had no intention of following through with something.

I was just beginning to relax again, all thoughts of Sophie Anne had slipped to the back of my mind when we pulled up and I took note of the large crowd of people milling around, seemingly without purpose. From the view I had I couldn't make out where we were, its seemed like a back street that was littered a little too much and was just a bit too dark for my liking. Where everyone was gathered appeared to be much brighter and it was when I really looked I discovered that the people were queuing up, in a way that only British people could; with complete passivity.

"Where are we?" I asked again. Eric didn't choose to answer me though, he slipped easily from the buggy and offered his hand out to help me down which I gratefully accepted. Once again his large hands gripped my waist and essentially picked me up, gently placing me on the ground beside him. Again he didn't say anything to the driver, just gave him a deep nod. "Thank-you!" I had the manners to shout out as he began to peddle away, standing up to get more force behind his movements.

"Welcome, to the Globe theatre, home of William Shakespeare," Eric declared dramatically with a flourish of his arm thrown in too. We stepped further down the street, where people were waiting together and I was led straight through a set of glass doors with a hologram of a thatched roof building on it. I hadn't actually seen the theatre before, but I'd heard about it; built in the same place and a replica of the original Globe. It was a theatre exposed to the elements, exactly like it had been in its hay day, with the stall 'seating' actually being standing room and the actors worked without stage lighting and with few props. The emphasis was on their own talent and from what I'd heard or read; they deserved the attention.

We walked straight up to the box office, Eric's hand never leaving my waist as he guided us side by side through the few people that were waiting inside. It appeared the queue stretched around the side of the building to some wrought iron gates which I could only assume were to get inside the theatre.

"Two tickets reserved under Northman," Eric stated clearly to the young girl seated behind the desk. She never stood a chance, I could feel her emotions flipping through her head, it didn't help that his word choice carried a certain amount of innuendo which would have been hilarious throughout the teenage population. Even flustered she worked quickly and handed over a pair of tickets.

"There you go sir, straight up the stairs here and follow the balcony around until you pass into the courtyard, you can go in by the doors directly opposite." I thanked her and we were off to find out seats.

I had never experienced anything quite like seeing a show at the Globe, and I doubted I ever would again. It was truly spectacular and A Midsummer Night's Dream was also my favourite play of Shakespeare's, not that I was familiar with all that many but the supernatural element with the fairies and the talking donkey was more than enough to win me over. We were sat in the first balcony, directly opposite the stage and off the ground enough to easily see above the heads of the people standing in the stalls. The cold air was biting as the time passed with inactivity and I found myself snuggling deeper down into my jacket. Eric's arm draped over my shoulder certainly helped but without his own body heat it did little but keep the breeze off my exposed neck. During the interval I even got a hot chocolate which I was still finishing off when the play started back up. I couldn't tear my eyes away from the way the actors captured the stage, making the character their own and I was truly sad when they took their final bow. Being here was like looking back in time and I didn't want to leave even though I knew I would have hated experiencing the real time now.

"That was amazing," I uttered for what wasn't the first time. Eric chuckled again, his deep laugh reverberating slightly around the small cabin of the taxi we were in, going to another unknown destination. When we'd gotten in Eric had handed the driver some bills, whispered quietly so that I couldn't hear and had promptly sat beside me. If I'd really wanted to know I could have listened in to his mind but with Eric being so secretive I knew he didn't want me to know just yet so I kept up being good.

"It really was very good, the actors are better now of course, though the improvement is great. The big difference? The smell." He told me as he lounged back against the seat, his long legs were stretched out in front of him so that his toes actually touched the back of the partition that separated us from the driver.

"You've been here before?" I asked, completely dumbfounded by the news although I probably shouldn't have been. "When?"

"About 1605, I don't remember the exact year," he shrugged as though it was no big deal. His eyes were sparkling with mischief and I knew he was enjoying this just a tad too much.

"Really?" I couldn't control my mouth and my hand shot up to cover it before I could let anything else stupid slip out.

"Yes." He grinned at me and I found it was contagious; I couldn't help but smile back at him. "Wait, it couldn't have been, earlier. He wasn't on the cast list in 1605, I saw Sejanus, His Fall. 1603!"

"Wait, you've not only been here before, but you've seen William Shakespeare act on that stage?" My voice had risen an octave in sheer astonishment.

"Yes, in our time, I was in London for around twenty years about the turn of the 17th Century, we were known to hang out."

"What?"

"I'm joking." He replied after a couple of seconds of just soaking up my reaction, then his chuckle was filling my ears and his grin was making me smile even wider though I wanted nothing more than to slap him that second for teasing me. At least he had a sense of humour, vampires weren't particularly renowned for them; I guess this was what he meant when he said he loved life.

"You're horribly mean!" I spat out, the grin on my face giving away that I didn't really have any spite behind my words at all. I huffed into the corner, my knees still touching his leg and we spent the rest of the journey in silence. I watched the buildings all lit up out of my window, imagining what it would have been like to experience London in Shakespeare's time. "Wait, how much of it were you joking about?"

"Only the knowing Shakespeare, I really was here in the early 1600s and I really did see him play here. It meant more to me as the years past though. I'm not denying he had talent." That statement just gave me even more to consider about the time period. "We're here." Eric's words, accompanied by a cool hand resting on my forearm cut through my mind and I was startled back into complete reality. We were pulled up near a pier where several large boats were tied up, some lit up with people milling about on their decks, others were in complete darkness.

"We're going on a boat?" I quickly shuffled out of the cab and immediately took a hold of the crook of his neck. It dawned on me then, I'm not sure why not at the theatre, that I was on an actual date with Eric. At first I thought it might have been to get us out from under the Queen's radar but I knew now that it really wasn't the main reason.

"Yes," was all he said and then I was being propelled down the large jetty to the boat at the end of the pier; the one that had glass sides and was ornately lit up like a sparkling Christmas tree even though Christmas had been and gone.

"Tickets sir?" A rather burly man with a gruff voice asked when we got near the steps that lead up onto the deck. The actual deck area was tiny, enough room for maybe thirty people to stand comfortable and much smaller than the covered up seating area that I could see now was arrange in small tables designed for couples and even a couple of small families out for a fun night. "Thank-you, enjoy the trip." I went first up the steps, glad that I'd worn my boots.

"What do you think?" Eric asked, coming to stand behind me. With him guiding me we went to stand at the side of the boat, looking out over the still water of the river Thames that was shimmering slightly in the moon light. There were no stars at all to be seen and I missed them, the background light from all the buildings and even the boats was much too bright from them to shine out.

"It's beautiful," I replied as I gazed at the skyline, seeing all the shadowed buildings with blazing lights in the windows. It's wasn't nature, it was purely man made but it was definitely a type of beauty and with the water in the foreground, you couldn't see the murky colour at night, I was being honest with my opinion.

His arms wrapped around my waist so that he could pull me back into his body and I felt the hard muscles, hard as rock, holding me up. I melted back against him and let the tranquillity wash over me, enjoying the peace.

"Why did you take me out tonight?" I whispered, not bothering to turn around to look at him.

"Well," he ducked his head, his mouth barely an inch away from my ear. "We needed to get out of the hotel, the Queen isn't happy with me." His mouth moved further south until he was hovering over the sensitive point just below my ear where my jaw turned into neck as well. "I wanted to keep you safe, she really isn't happy and I wanted to spend some time with you, alone." The last part he whispered into my neck, letting his lips brush against my skin with every word. My breath was catching in my throat and my heart was thumping loudly in my chest, I had no doubt he could hear it with how close he was pressed against me.

I turned around in his arms so that I could see his face clearly. "Why the theatre?" There were so many other theatres around here, the hotel was practically in the west end and the musicals there were world renowned in popular culture.

"I wanted to share something with you." He was stooped over slightly so that our eyes were more or less level which mean his lips were only a few inches away from mine; my gaze kept flickering south.

"Why the boat?" This had obviously been planned ahead of schedule, he already had the tickets and we'd somehow managed to get really good seats at the theatre.

"I got them from the concierge, they've reserved tickets for certain events all over the city while the summit meeting is happening. I simply paid the right price." He turned his head slightly, letting his breath tickle over my cheek just like he'd done earlier and I had to fight with myself not to just grab him. "The boat? Well, look over there." He nodded with his head, indicating further down the river."

I craned my neck to see where he'd been indicating and there, at least a mile down the river but still distinctive were the houses of parliament and Big Ben, lit up in a haunting light. The clock faces glowed while the top of the tower was in deep shadow as were the turrets on the main building. The lighting was from below, shining upward, giving extra definition to depth and angles but yet again, it was truly stunning. "We still can't go inside but, I thought looking at it again might make up a little for not really getting to explore. Further down you can see Westminster Abbey as well." I turned around to face him again, finding his handsome face even closer than before if that was at all possible. I could only think of one thing to say and it was what I'd been wanting for quite awhile now; I'd had enough teasing. I was taking control.

"Kiss me."

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**So what did you think? You know i love feedback almost as much as i love a certain Viking vampire. Special thanks to JoxX who sent me a review i couldn't reply to. **

**The title, Kiss Me You Animal comes from the My Chemical Romance song Na Na Na which is their new single, going to see them on the 23rd in london, can't wait! **

**Thanks for reading and i hope you have a wonderful evening. **

***hugs*  
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	7. This Night is Wild

**Hey guys, **

**how are you all doing? Good I hope. I'm very good, no freshers flu :) i've had a very good week, lots of work and lots of down time too. I went to the British Museum last saturday so expect to have that in here at some point because it's simply so magnificent that i can't not have it in. Tomorrow i'm going to the MCR gig in London, can't wait, it'll be the fifth time i've seen them. Anyway, i'm sorry this is a little late in posting, it's technically saturday morning here, but you know, life got in the way. **

**I want to say thank-you to my wonderful betas campyrs and trajedy99 who have really helped this week. I haven't been giving them a lot of turn around time with the chapters recently but they've been real champions. You'll be pleased to know i'm pretty much done with the next chapter. Erm, Charlaine Harris owns the wonderful Southern Vampire Mysteries and on with the chapter! Oh and livesimple, you almost didn't get what you asked so nicely for in your review but the lovely betas decided it was about time too, so enjoy. **

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I laid awake the following morning, it was late and the sun was streaming brightly in through my open curtains. I'd just had enough energy to go and open them so that I could truly bask before sliding back into the comfortable bed. I'd been out until the early hours of the morning; I was fully rested now though, it was just that my body refused to listen to my brain when I wanted to get up. It was scary how long it took me to realise what emotion I was feeling, happy or at least halfway there. Last night had been the best I'd had in months, I couldn't remember having such a good time since Amelia and I had gone out for my birthday, it seemed I was a poor excuse for a young woman in her prime. I closed my eyes again and sighed as my memories flooded my brain giving me warm fuzzy feelings deep in my stomach.

"How did you manage to swing this?" I asked in complete awe of the vampire standing behind me with his hands gripping my waist a little protectively.

"They open late on certain nights. I may have just persuaded them to let us, with it being so late, have our own capsule." I didn't have to be looking at him to know he was smiling, I imagined it to be a smirk with the possibility of the tips of his fangs poking out over his bottom lip.

"But, it's the London eye!" I exclaimed again, earning a chesty chuckle that I could feel rumbling he was pressed so close against me.

We were in our own capsule on the London Eye, late at night with the city before us lit up in a way that even from the boat I'd appreciated but now it was nothing less than spectacular. The boat we'd gotten on had gone down the river past the houses of parliament and had docked at a little jetty behind the large wheel. Most of the people had disembarked and gotten straight into the queue. We'd stayed until the very last, gaining a capsule on our own for privacy. We were now nearing the top of the cycle and were looking down on everything around us. With it being night I couldn't necessarily see all the landmarks clearly but it was so much more beautiful; there's nothing quite like a manmade splendour illuminated in artificial light. If you're not going natural you shouldn't cut corners at all.

"That is Buckingham Palace," he whispered to me even though there was absolutely no need at all, it wasn't like anyone else could possibly hear us. His lips didn't stay near my ear though they trailed down my neck, brushing against the skin with intermittent kisses that sent shivers shooting down my spine. I felt his chest rise in an unneeded breath and then cool air whooshed across my skin softly, raising goosebumps, before his lips kissed me properly, the tip of his tongue tasting me. I leaned back into him completely, letting his strong muscles support me so I could just feel what he was doing to me.

"St Pauls Cathedral all the way over there." How he could formulate a sentence, never mind articulate it, was beyond me but I managed to nod appreciatively before leaning towards him more. He got the hint and his nose began to nuzzle into my neck more, I could feel him breathing deeply, taking in my scent and the next time he kissed me I could feel hard peaks behind his lips from his elongated fangs.

This time I didn't bother saying anything, I simply spun around in his arms so that his hands were resting on the top curve of my bottom and I could see his shining blue eyes in the dim light of the capsule. I brought my lips up to his and I kissed him, feeling his smirk disappear as his tongue slipped into my mouth, exploring and setting me on fire. His cool body was delicious next to my heated one and my arms slipped up his arms, gripping the muscles there firmly until I reached his broad shoulders. With fingers splayed I felt his power yet kept moving until I reached his neck where I wrapped my fingers into his hair and went up onto my tip toes to reach him better. I wouldn't be too sorry if I spent the entire ride like this; I could always see these sights from a picture.

That was exactly what we did too, we just kissed and explored until we were startled by a bright flash of light that had Eric spinning around with a snarl on his face and fingers curled into claws. I had been left standing, terrified on my own with eyes wide, feeling like a rabbit caught in headlights and it was only after much heavy breathing on my part that I realised we'd been photographed by the standard ride camera that was automatically operated. Eric eventually calmed down, coming to the same conclusion as me though he was much more worried about having been caught unaware than I was. The only real worry I had was if the photograph had captured anything incriminating. It hadn't. All you could see was Eric's back; I was completely hidden from view, even his hair covering up my hands that had remained gripping the back of his neck.

We hadn't shared another kiss until we'd gotten back to my hotel room; in fact, from that point onwards he'd been a perfect gentleman, though he hadn't had to keep up that impossible charade for long since after the London Eye ride we got a taxi back to the hotel. I smiled again at how I'd had to physically move him out of my hotel room.

"You have to go," I said again reasonably, the smile on my face probably didn't help get across that I was completely serious; my body was warring with itself about whether it actually needed to sleep or not, although the definitely less fun side was winning.

"Why? We have hours." He replied, meaning that there was still hours to go until sunrise; he was correct, all three of them. If we were going to do this, I didn't want three measly hours, I wanted a night.

"I need to sleep."

"Sleep during the day," was his reply that I barely heard since he didn't bother pulling away fully from my neck where he was tracing his fangs over my skin; I wasn't entirely sure which of us he was teasing the most.

"I'm human."

"I know," he whispered and pressed his teeth in a little bit harder so that he was breaking through my skin.

Closing my eyes tightly I sucked in a deep breath and let it all out again in a massive sigh then I brought my hands up to his chest and shoved as hard as I could which didn't have any affect at all. "Stop," I reiterated and accompanied the command with another shove, this time making him actually stop and pull back slightly, though I was still wrapped up in his arms.

"Why?" He asked and I couldn't help but compare him to a pouting child who wasn't getting his own way.

"I'm not doing this tonight," I told him honestly although skimming over a few facts like I really did want to do this, just not now. "You," I poked my index finger into the middle of his broad chest. "Are going back to your own room." When he began looking at me seductively with a mischievous gleam in his eye I remembered what I'd missed out. "Alone." With that I squirmed out of his embrace and took the couple of steps to the door and threw it open as soon as I could. "Thank you for the wonderful night." I thanked him again, I'd said it at least ten times since we'd gotten off the London Eye but I felt the need to really reinforce the message since I was kicking him out of my room.

"Some other night." He stated, entirely too confident in himself but I nodded slightly nonetheless. "You are much too much fun Sookie Stackhouse," he whispered to me as he passed by, letting his lips trail all the way from my ear to my lips as he went. Even when I made him leave he made me want more. Damn him. I shut the door, a little too loudly for the late hour on his laughing, retreating figure and tried to calm myself down.

When I came back to reality, albeit sadly; I found that I'd successfully daydreamed and snoozed the entire morning away. I didn't regret it at all though; lazy days were very few and far between to boot. I'll admit now that even after seeing the time I didn't rush around, just lazily went about showering and getting ready for the evening, hell I even ordered in room service taking full advantage of my daily allowances. That was a bonus I often overlooked; since vampires didn't eat or drink anything other than blood, they provided a very generous daily food allowance since they didn't know any better.

Soon enough, six o clock rolled around and I made my way downstairs. Tonight was the Summit Fair, an event I was almost looking forward to. It was the event I was dreading the least. I walked straight into the conference rooms, the same ones used for the ball, had been opened up to accommodate all of the stalls. The place was already heaving with people; well vampires, and every wall space was taken up by posters advertising a stall. I started down the left hand side as I had no specific tasks except to keep my mind open.

"Well, good evening Miss Stackhouse," a deep yet rather cheerful voice called out to me, breaking my attention away from an ingenious set of black out blinds that looked more like standard curtains and weren't even black. They professed to keep out every bit of UV possible. I work a lot of night shifts and want to sleep-in in the morning so I was seriously considering making a purchase. When I glanced up I found Eric relaxing against the wall of a stall, wearing a crimson shirt with 'Fangtasia' written across it in a black, curling script. "Couldn't stay away could you?" He asked with a broad grin and sparkling eyes.

"Have you seen Sophie Anne?" I asked, completely ignoring his question and moving onto safer ground for in the middle of a crowded conference room.

"Not yet, she'll be here soon. She's calmed down a lot since last night. The broken down deal means she isn't going to be getting a lot of money that she expected but she's dealing with it the only the way she can."

"Board games?" I spent as little time in her presence as possible but I still knew she was a board game fanatic with a particular liking for monopoly and dingbats, not that she was very good at either.

"Board games. She doesn't seem to be asking questions now though, applying the forget technique to money loss."

"So, what are you doing here?"

"This is my stall." He spread his arms wide and I glanced at all of the little knick knacks; each one seemed a little too gaudy to suit Eric's tastes. I quirked my eyebrows at him, willing him to further explain. "Fangtasia is my Bar; Pam is looking after it while I'm here." Now, Pam I'd actually met a few times during my dealings and she was pretty cool as far as vampires went and she had a decent sense of humour. "We have a range of gifts and drink-ware especially designed for Vampires, we're trying to branch out actually, and if things go well here, we'll open another bar in London."

"So, why London?" I asked, taking a position next to him, leaning against the wall with only a few inches between us.

"I've always liked London and Pam is from here of course." This was true, she still had remnants of her British accent since she wasn't too old; only around two hundred and I now had a feeling that perhaps Eric was Pam's sire. "If we set up a bar here Pam would run it for as long as she wants, she deserves it."

"Are you Pam's maker?" It was best to be straightforward with matters like these. Eric had a tendency to be rather blunt on some matters.

"Yes."

"Okay." We remained in silence for a few seconds until Eric got called away by someone who wanted to purchase a set of bottle openers in a truly cheesy design of dripping Vampire teeth. I watched him work, the way he became more authoritative once he'd gauged the other Vampire's age and more persuasive and charming when he was closing in on the sale. I also happened to notice the way his muscles made the material of the sleeves strain whenever he flexed even the slightest.

"See something you like?" He asked me with a wiggle of his eyebrows when he turned back to me and caught me staring at him.

"Yes," I answered truthfully with crimson staining my cheeks and I caught the broad smirk on his face at my reply, the way his fangs ran down he appreciated the honesty.

"You're hanging out with me tonight," he commanded and I had to admit it was deliciously powerful; as long as it stayed to things like this. It was also rather strange to hear such modern terminology coming from someone so old.

"Actually I believe the Queen has me scheduled to sit in the meeting with her tonight." The meeting was with several of the Vampire leaders to discuss the up and coming decision from the Shifter community to reveal themselves to the humans. It was also the reason why I wasn't completely looking forward to tonight; the good fair was ruined by the overshadowing this meeting brought. It was doomed to fall into some form of brawl.

"Good job then, I'm in the meeting too."

"Why?" I asked before I could censor my tone too much, it came out sounding harsher and more disbelieving than I'd really intended.

"I'm Sheriff over Area five." I did remember him telling me this, Area five also happened to incorporate Bon Temps into its borders, it also meant it was some sort of minor miracle that we'd never met. "Shreveport is where I live and it has one of the largest Were packs in the United States."

"Wow," I replied after mulling that over in my head; the pack consisted of precisely forty one members plus five half members from the local army base. That this was one of the largest packs was a little scary; I knew Weres of all sorts suffered from infertility problems, I just hadn't quite realised it was so bad and widespread.

"It's likely to affect Shreveport a lot if things don't go well with the reveal since the Weres are quite well known in the public in their human guises." I wasn't particularly worried about Shreveport, I was worried about little old Bon Temps; Sam Merlotte owner of the bar where I worked and good friend was a true Shifter and he was also stepping out of the closet. My little town had handled the vampires quite well; I just wasn't sure how they'd handle the difference with Sam even though it'd always been there. "Do you..." his voice suddenly broke off and he turned his attention away from me though he remained slouching against the wall. I was just about to enquire about his strange behaviour when he spoke again, words that made my stomach fall in my abdomen. "Sophie Anne." I turned around and found the Queen gliding toward us and finally stop a couple of feet away.

"Where did you go last night?" She didn't bother with any preamble and the question was directed only at me, she obviously didn't know about the date last night, which left me with a panic of getting my thoughts together. I wasn't sure how much I should share.

"She was with me," Eric answered for me before an awkward silence could enquire. The Queen's expression didn't alter at all though, it remained impassive and only the slight lifting of her chin indicated she wanted more details.

"We went to the Globe and to see the London Eye," I added, hopefully giving enough details for her to be satisfied but not enough for her to be suspicious.

"You are spending time together. You both need to accompany me in half an hour at the meeting. Don't be late." With that she turned on her tiny, ballet pumped feet and left us alone and with no explanation about her first statement.

"Why is she angry with you?" I asked, remembering last night, and when I assumed she was out of ear shot, she was so tiny I'd quickly lost track of her in the crowd.

"She believes I'm trying to steal you away from her." He shrugged his massive shoulders and I actually felt the move as it shifted the temporary stall wall we were both leaning against.

"Are you?"

"Not for the reasons she thinks," he replied with a slight toothy grin. It was my luck, of course, that another shopper turned up demanding Eric's attention.

We didn't get another moment to talk to each other until we headed to the meeting and then there were too many Vampires around for us to discuss anything. It left me too much time with my own thoughts, there were only mine in my head with so many vampires around. Eric had basically admitted he wanted to steal me away but he hadn't given me an explanation of his intent; he freely admitted it wasn't the reasons the Queen was thinking. Here, yet again, I was making assumptions. The Queen would probably think he wanted to use my telepathy or to gain money from using my telepathy, which also happened to be the reason the Queen kept me around.

So it was in silence that we walked side by side into what was essentially a large lecture theatre complete with a podium in the centre of the semi circle; erected in the restaurant. Eric's cool presence beside me gave me little in the form of comfort, being human, even a rather important one; it was rather difficult to walk into a roomful of probably angry Vampires. Most Vampires were against the Weres coming out, at least now, as some countries were still reeling from the stepping out of the coffins the Vampires did a couple of years back. Oddly it had been Britain that had taken the best stance with them and they were treated like everyone else, albeit with strict punishments and guidelines they had to stick by.

We took our seats, three had been reserved for our group and the Queen was already seated and Eric quickly filed in next to her, putting his body as a physical barrier between us. The Queen didn't bother to acknowledge our presence; she just sat regally as though she owned the place and stared forward, waiting for whoever was going to be running the meeting.

"Ladies and gentlemen," a voice boomed out across the room with no need for a microphone. All the chatter, there hadn't been that much in the first place, was immediately stopped and everyone shuffled into full concentration. "Can I have your attention please?" He already had everyone's attention so there really was no need.

The man in front, his name tag read Isaac, was an imposing gentleman who appeared to be bigger and broader than even Eric. His presence seemed to fill the little stage he was standing on. His jet black hair was plaited down his back, even so it nearly reached his knees. He had blue eyes, so piercing they could be seen clearly even from where I was about seven rows back and he appeared to be taking in every little detail he could. He was of an indeterminable age, there didn't seem to be any wrinkles or even any flaws to his pale skin but he had an air of history, just an oldness about him that said he'd seen more centuries than anyone could believe. He was also not a Vampire nor a Human, I wasn't entirely sure but I had a feeling he was a Demon, his brain held a similar pattern to that of Mr. Cataliades.

"The meeting will run as I direct, I have been appointed by a vote by each of you. You will show me respect or there will be consequences." He flashed a smile showing off his teeth that were sharpened down into points like each one was a tiny fang. "Opinions will be raised during the first half by raising your hand, once everyone has had at least one turn we will stop. Then we decide the course of action we will _all_ take, which again will be lead by me. Begin." A murmur ran through the gathered crowd, it was barely audible since everyone speaking were Vampires, it sounded to me like a low, rumbling hum.

The Demon acknowledged a Vampire who had raised his hand and the room fell into silence again. It was at that point, during the true silence that only Vampires can accomplish that I realised I had no idea why I was actually here; I couldn't read anyone's brain, I couldn't really say my opinions so I was just sat in a room listening to them talk. I caught the Queen staring at me then, her head directed toward the front but her eyes were focused intently on me. It hit me then, why I was here; she wanted to keep an eye on me for some reason.

My hands began sweating then, at the thought of having all of that attention focused on little old me. I had secrets about my telepathy, some that I hadn't told Eric, more than the one that I'd told Eric about briefly. The major one, that the flashes from Vampire minds were longer and more frequent as my power increased, was a secret that I would take to my grave because I knew that if I told anyone a Vampire would find out. If a Vampire found out, they would put me in my grave. I couldn't take the chance of having one of those flashes here, not under scrutiny, they were terrifying, almost paralysing to me with the thoughts or intentions they revealed. Vampires were despicable, at least the ones I'd seen inside had been and I couldn't keep a passive face against that no matter how hard I tried. I clamped my shields down, cut myself off from the Vampires sat around me and stared forward, listening solely to the words being spoken aloud, just in case.

"The Weres shouldn't be allowed to reveal themselves yet, the majority of Humans are still in turmoil, it's too soon after our reveal."

"How do you propose we stop them?" A Vampire from near the back shouted; who earned a deep growl that sent shivers down my spine, from the Demon. Other hands shot up and the Demon indicated them each so quickly that it was more like a standard flowing conversation.

"We need to prepare what we are going to do about the reveal, not how to stop it. Although we are more in number we can't keep them quiet on this, that time has long since gone. We need to decide what stance we take on this, whether we admit we knew about them or play dumb about them."

"We can't play dumb; it's obvious that we'd know about them. We need to minimise the trauma of exposure, a bad event somewhere could lead people into going against us. The last thing we need is another massacre." Calling what happened the previous fall in Dallas a massacre was a large exaggeration. I'd been present for only part of what had happened but I knew only four Vampires had been killed, three seriously injured and more had been hurt although they had healed by the following morning. Essentially the Fellowship of the Sun had raided a state meeting in Dallas and had set a bomb off in one of the meeting halls by driving a car straight into the lobby of the hotel where most Vampires were staying. I'd been safely tucked up in my room when this had happened and all of the humans, apart from the ones who had been driving the car, survived.

"We should embrace it! It'll take the focus off us!" Sophie Anne chimed in with her opinion at that point and somehow effectively summing up pretty much everything that had been said.

"We shouldn't do anything, neither embrace it nor stop it, we can't really do either. The Weres will do what they want, they always have done even when we've tried to suppress them, and they're like vermin, always finding ways around barricades. We just need to pay attention to them, see what happens and be prepared to do damage control if anything happens. Our first thought should be protecting ourselves."

That started off a whole new round of murmuring, growing in volume so that I could actually tell people were whispering. An ear piercing yowl filled the air, so painful that I actually covered my ears and stared toward the front where the Demon had his head thrown back and mouth opened wide. As soon as the room had descended into silence once more the noise stopped though I could still hear echoes around my head.

"Order, I will keep you in order. Now, you."

"Shit," I whispered so quietly under my breath I couldn't even hear it with my own ears. _Either of the extremes, sit back and do nothing or eradicate them all, the only way forward, all or nothing._ An image of a wolf, already in the process of being transformed back into a human filled my head and it was being torn limb from limb by pale, dead hands. _Blood, we all need blood to calm ourselves down. Or a good fight, a fight would clear our heads. Oh yes, I've had enough of this talking._ I snapped my shields down and came back into my own head, finally becoming aware of the reality around me.

Eric was staring at me, his hand hovering over my knee as though he couldn't decide whether it would help or not to touch me. He appeared to be the only one who had noticed anything was different with me. No one else was looking at me. I took inventory; my face held a slight grimace and my eyes were screwed up so I was seeing through a slit. His eyebrows were arched, silently asking questions and when I looked at him he gently laid his hand on my knee, letting me know he was there.

"What were you thinking?" I asked as quietly as I could, simply breathing the words out and hoping he'd be able to hear.

"I was wondering what was wrong with you," he replied, his eyebrows had returned to their normal position but that was the only change in his expression, probably due to being surrounded by Vampires. Looking past his large frame I could see the Queen still paying close attention to the Vampires who were taking turns to talk, not even looking at me anymore.

"Before that," I added, hoping desperately that it hadn't been his brain that I'd been sucked into. I couldn't tell and I didn't recognise the voice, I just knew it was someone sitting close by and male.

"About how they have the complete wrong idea, we need to help the shifters. If we don't, it could be detrimental to us. Why?" He asked. His lips were close to my ear so I could hear him speak even when he was being quiet so as not to alert the Demon keeping an eye on us.

"Not here, but someone's wanting to start," my words were cut off by the audible crack of flesh colliding with flesh. "A brawl." I finished just as chairs began scraping back as Vampires clambered gracefully to their feet. Everything happened at once; seven chairs went flying through the air, Eric pushed me to the side and threw his body in front of me, the Queen bared fangs, hovering above the ground and the Demon jumped into the middle of the foray.

"Argh!" I squealed out as I collided with the wall which wasn't far away from where I'd been sitting considering I was on the aisle seat. A deep growl emanated from Eric, his back was all I could see of him though. A throng of bodies had joined up in the middle of the room, moving so fast that I couldn't make out a single one apart from the odd arm that was drawn back smoothly before darting forward to connect with an opponent with a smack that echoed around the room. Eric glanced back at me, huddled against the wall, and then he was gone, throwing himself into the fray, though he didn't disappear his blond head was visible above most of the others.

"Shit," I muttered to myself with as much emotion as I could behind it. I was really growing to love that word by the minute but then again I kept getting myself into situations where I really had to use it. I pushed back against the wall and staggered to my feet, clutching my right shoulder that had collided with the wall when Eric had pushed me to safety. It ached already but it was dull, there was nothing broken and I didn't bruise all that easy anymore, it was like my body had adapted to be more resilient even on this small level.

I leant again the wall, breathing heavily with the adrenaline scouring through my veins and scanned the scene before me, working out how I could get out of the room. The conference room doors were all shut, and I knew they were sound proofed, so I knew no external help was coming to break up the fight, it would only stop when they all burnt out. The guards that had been stationed at the doors were now in the group in the middle of the room, attempting to pull Vampires apart but were more than likely joining in as they just couldn't help themselves. That's when I saw a white figure cutting through the air towards me, and I only had time to move, not to think, before it crashed into the wall only a couple of feet to the side. Sophie Anne sat crumpled on the floor, teeth bared and a fierce glint in her eyes.

"Sophie Anne, you are not to fight," Eric growled out, stalking towards her in a crouched stance, looking exactly like the predators you see on National Geographic. "I will not pull you out again," he added with a longing glance behind him at the fight. It was a swirling mass of black clad pale bodies that was now breaking up into smaller groups, with only a few Vampires fighting each other properly.

"You should have left me you disobedient fool!" The Queen snarled out and I stepped back quickly as she began to get to her feet; at some point she'd lost one of her shoes, the other one was untied, the ribbons trailing along the ground.

"Let's go! I am following you earlier orders." Without further warning he stepped forward and scooped the Queen up bridal style, his massive arms making her seem even more elfin. "Sookie, go to my room, wait for me there." He snapped out at me, his ice blue eyes blazing with an emotion I couldn't decide whic, rage or excitement; it easily could have been either of them.

I didn't need telling twice, I scurried from the room ahead of them, sticking close to the wall so there was little chance a stray arm or retreating Vampire would get me. I shoved chairs into the middle with my good arm and I ran as fast as I could through the clear patches. Still, I only just made it to the doors ahead of the striding Viking even with his burden. The Queen was trying her hardest to flail and escape, I could see her muscles bunching with tension, her head was repeatedly thrown back in frustration but Eric's grip was too strong for her to move him at all. Her arms were pressed down against her sides and her legs were stuck together, with one of his arms wrapped around them.

I ran as soon as we were clear of the conference room though, I didn't want to be closer than necessary to the angry Queen, just in case she got free. With adrenaline upping my flight responses I headed for the elevators while Eric disappeared toward the stairs. Even from across the large lobby I could hear him growling at the Queen, showing true defiance and not caring about the people staring at him.

My heart was pounding as I rode the elevator and my breaths were coming in deep gulps. Everything hit me in one fell swoop; I was in far too much danger too often to be good for me and they couldn't all just be coincidence. I knew I'd realised it before that something was going on and somebody wanted me out of the Queen's power but riding, alone, in that metal box I realised how alone in the sea of Vampires I really was. I knew no other human here except for Caleb and I really didn't know how much I could trust him. He was nice, polite, even friendly, but there was something about him that made my skin crawl and I shouldn't just ignore it. I couldn't ignore it anymore. The Queen was making me work for her more and more, soon she would become suspicious about my powers if she wasn't already; Eric had taken me out of the hotel last night on the premises to avoid her. Then there was the fact that other vampire groups were showing interest in me, too much interest and they only had to offer the right price before Sophie Anne would ship me off, and I would have little to no say in the matter. Then of course, there was Eric himself.

Eric. I didn't really know what to make of him. He was gorgeous, the closest thing to a friend I had here and he definitely seemed to have my back. He didn't give me any form of strange feelings except he made me ache for him in a way that rarely happened anymore, because there were just too many repulsive Vampires and I couldn't stand the thoughts of sexual nature towards men, it was even getting difficult with shifters. My powers may have improved enough for me to protect against them fully in normal situations but night time situations? They definitely weren't normal and I didn't want to be concentrating on shielding. So, back to Eric my thoughts swirled and I had to wonder how much he had to offer me.

All of that I thought of in the less than a minute it took to get to Eric's hotel room. It was only when I was standing at his door, hand already having knocked that I realised I had no way of getting in, I was essentially stranded here. I could go back to my room but the Queen would look for me there and I had no way of knowing if she'd noticed anything from earlier in the conference room. Eric for sure had noticed something, probably one of the reasons for asking me to meet him here. Also, you don't cross an angry vampire so it was safest for me to stay put and wait, no matter how much I disliked it.

Slouching to the floor, back against the door I decided what I really needed; a great big, comforting hug from my grandmother. Except that it didn't have to be my grandmother, she was just the person I immediately thought of and associated with comfort. It was comfort that I sought, the feeling of someone with me, the thought of being cherished enough to be cared for.

"Sookie," Eric greeted me, startling me out of my thoughts with his deep voice. He offered me his large hand and pulled me to my feet, so forcefully that I actually stood up with a little jump. Then I was swept into his room with the door shut behind me before I even realised what had happened properly.

"What's going on?" I asked him, leaning against the wall with a hand over my chest to make sure my heart would stay in there it was pumping so hard from being shocked.

"The Queen, she never learns. She can't fight in something like that to save her life, and then she has the nerve to try punishing me for pulling her out! I was supposed to be acting as a body guard in there, I was doing my job. I should have just left her to it." He spat out, walking into the living room area where he started pacing back and forth. I took a tentative seat on the edge of the sofa, hands folded in my lap but fiddling with the seam on my black jeans to give me something to do.

"How did you not fight?" I asked, not bothering with my verbal filter; he would probably appreciate the bluntness.

"I want to go back and start throwing fists, start ripping and tearing." I stared at him, taking both him and his honesty in. I could see the physical strain it was taking him not to go back downstairs and start fighting, his chest was heaving and his fists were clenched tightly by his sides so much so that his knuckles looked like they were going to split his skin. The fact that he was actually breathing when he was speaking told me enough.

"Then why aren't you?"

"Because I shouldn't, I had to pull the Queen out and then my protective instincts kicked in. Protecting over-powers fighting. It's best when they combine." A broad grin broke out across his face as he remembered happy times, his elongated fangs showing his true joy of a good fight, a fight worth doing for keeping someone safe. My next question though was what I really wanted to know the answer to; who was he protecting?

"Who," I paused to wet my lips, the adrenaline running through my body setting me on edge and the tension that filled the room causing me to panic slightly. "Who are you protecting?"

"You." He stopped directly in front of me, only a few feet away, to stare down at me with his blazing blue eyes. It was him that I needed, him that I craved. It may have been for the wrong reasons, but I didn't care, all I wanted was to feel.

I slowly got to my feet and he was already there to meet me. His powerful hands gripped my waist and pulled me to him roughly; my own hands braced against his chest, feeling the heaving from his breath under my skin. His cool flesh, even through the thin material of his shirt was in startling contrast to my heated hands and I leaned into him more, pressing my body against his as my lips met his.

His lips were hungry, moving with mine in an exploratory dance that sent his tongue darting into my mouth almost instantly. I moaned into him, melting into his arms as I also went up onto my tiptoes to reach him better. My hands worked themselves up his chest to his neck, winding my fingers into his hair that I tugged bringing him ever closer to me. His hands moved from my hips and up, grazing across the planes of my back and up to my shoulders.

"Ow!" I gasped out, breaking our contact at the touch of his hand on my shoulder so much so that I pulled back from him even though I instantly missed the intimate contact.

"What's wrong?" He whispered, voice even deeper than normal and his fingers tracing lightly around where they were when I yelped. "What hurts?"

"My shoulder," I whispered back, my own hand cradling the injured shoulder that I barely noticed now. "It's okay, just be careful," I added before crashing my lips onto his, my tongue instantly going to explore his mouth, taking particular time around tracing his fangs. Muscles deep in my stomach began to clench deliciously and I could feel his excitement pressed into my stomach.

"Careful I'll be then," he muttered against my lips, teasing me and the pulling back swiftly and latching his lips onto my ear, tugging playfully and using his fangs. His hands moved from my shoulders and down, kneading his fingertips into my back and working his way down until he was cupping my butt. He picked me up, carefully, until my hips were level with his and I could wrap my legs around his waist, creating the friction I wanted. His lips moved to my neck, nibbling gently and grazing his fangs over my sensitive skin, daringly just not quite breaking the skin.

I tugged on the collar of his shirt, my hands sliding underneath the black material and down his back, feeling his muscles straining in order to keep me held up. I yanked on the material, ripping it where the seams met over the collar bones exposing his glorious body. I strengthened my grip around him with my legs and pulled upward, signalling I wanted his shirt off which he immediately conceded. His fingers lingered on my jeans clad butt but he let go, sending his arms straight over his head and tugging his shirt with him. I dropped it to the floor, not caring about where it went as long as it wasn't on his body.

My shirt was the next to go with a sound of snapping buttons that I just couldn't bring myself to care about and as soon as I could I pressed my torso against his, groaning at the cool flesh of his. My hands didn't rest in any place, they explored taking in every muscle and every sensitive area that made him quiver or murmur into my mouth. His lips found their way back to mine, our tongues moving together with an eagerness I don't think I'd ever experienced. The art of teasing fangs without drawing blood was a skill I hadn't lost and I made use of it, pulling his head forcefully to mine.

When I pulled back, gasping desperately for air I found that we were no longer in the living room. There was a bed behind us and I realized we were in what was the Human room of his suite. Then I was falling backward and I squealed in protest. My outcries were silenced by his lips, stopping anything more than a moan escaping them and I felt the soft duvet under my bare back as he laid me down. My legs didn't unlatch from his waist, instead I pulled him down on top of me, luckily, he supported his weight on one arm, leaving the other free to make its way down to my waist and start unfastening my jeans.

"You taste," he whispered as his lips started tracing from my lips and to my neck again, nipping occasionally but focusing on flicking his tongue out to sweep along sensitive skin. "Delicious," he breathed out, letting the cool air wash over the area he'd just licked.

He was looming above me then, his mouth still locked onto my neck and my hands kneading and feeling the muscles of his stomach, the hard lines that disappeared down into his jeans. His hands worked back up, and ripped my bra open not caring about destruction just needing to get my chest completely bare. He moved down, guided partially by my hands, his lips never leaving my searing flesh for more than a second as he went, his hands remaining ahead of his mouth.

My jeans, shoes and socks went quick as a blink and then he was gone, leaving me gasping on the bed, almost crying out for him. I settled on a frustrated groan that was more like a growl that sent a deep, rumbling laugh from his chest. He stood at the base of the bed, glorious in the body that would thankfully never change. His chest was broad with the lightest splattering of pale blond hair and a trail of darker hair that led down from his belly button into his jeans that were already unfastened. The palest blond hair I'd ever seen on a man was draped around his shoulders in a mess courtesy of my fingers and I may have felt an actual ache to run my hands through those soft strands again. His blue eyes were blazing with lust and I felt like he could see everything of me. He probably could, but I wasn't self conscious about him, it was truly obvious that he enjoyed what he saw. In fact, it was so obvious I had to gulp at the thought.

He stripped out of his remaining clothes quickly and climbed gracefully back onto the bed, covering my small body with his, enveloping me in his arms so I was completely surrounded by coolness. I wasted no time in sliding my hands down his back until I reached his butt and dug my fingers in, pulling him up swiftly until we were fully joined. I was only aided by a gentle thrust from him. I had no rational or complete thoughts after that, I simply gave into what my body needed and of course, the absolute bliss.

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**So what did you think? You know I love feedback almost as much as i love a certain Viking vampire. I want to say thank-you for reading and to everyone whose reviewed, this story has been better recieved that any of my other stories. Thanks. **

**The chapter title This Night is Wild is taken from the Dashboard Confessional song Hands Down. **

**Thanks again, have a great weekend guys. **

***hugs*  
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	8. The Secret's in the Telling

**Hey guys, **

**how are you all doing? I'm doing great, had a very good week, been learning lots of really interesting things about embyology this week and had more hands on practicals with live animals :) Also, it was the MCR gig in london last saturday which was mind blowingly good and then yesterday i went to a comedy night in a local lounger bar type place and i met Jack Whitehall *sighs happily* he's pretty much my favourite comedian and it was a really intimate gig, only about 50 people there which was really good too. So, as i write this i'm eating parkin *you guys do know what that is right* so i'm getting crumbs in my keyboard lol. Also, sorry it's posted late but i've been playing cards for the past two hours across in another flat. **

**Anywho, Charlaine Harris owns the wonderful southern vampire mysteries, thank-you to my wonderful betas campyrs and trajedy99. Without them i couldn't do this and they cope with a lot :) so on with the chapter!**

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_I was sitting alone in my bedroom, curled up with one of my favourite books reading by the bedside lamp since the sun had set hours ago, a gorgeous half moon was lighting up the sky. It was bright enough outside to see the clearing in which my little old home sat and the trees at the edge but not enough to make out too much detail or to really see anything in my room. My grandmother was tucked up sound asleep in her own room across the hall; I could hear the barest splattering of her mind that told me she was on the verge of a deep sleep that would finally allow me true relaxation. Well, it would have if I didn't have a shadow hanging over me about what was still to come this night. _

_A soft knocking on the front door, not enough to waken up a sleeping person but loud enough for my attuned and vampire blood strengthened ears to pick up on. My breathing immediately hitched, coming in short, sharp gasps and my heart began to thunder in my chest as I finally gave over to the panic that I'd been on the verge of since sunset. The book dropped to the floor with a clatter that didn't even register as I wrapped my dressing gown around my body tightly, it would be my security blanket for this since I had more guts and morals than to do this over the phone. Though now, I was seriously regretting that decision; it would have been easier, I couldn't be physically hurt and my grandmother definitely wouldn't be woken up by a telephone conversation. _

_As silently as possible I padded down the corridor to the front door, all the way willing my feet to stop shaking on the creaky floorboards. I didn't even dare look at my hands, instead they were shoved deep in my pockets and my fingers were fiddling furiously with the little bits of lint in there. All too soon I just couldn't put it off any further and I opened up the front door without bothering to check the peep hole. Bill stood before me in the gloom offered by the porch, his skin glowing more than I ever remembered so that it was almost bright enough to be a completely new light source. _

"_Sookie," he greeted me warmly, a bright smile lighting up his face and crinkling up the corners of his eyes. _

"_Bill," I said back quietly and took a tentative step outside and carefully closing the door behind me with barely a click. "We need to talk," I added as well. He didn't take the step back that I'd hoped which left us too close for my liking for this particular conversation; he wasn't going to like it and I thought the further away I was the better it would be. _

"_I know, you mentioned that earlier on the phone." I nodded in agreement, remembering the awful answer phone message that I'd been forced to leave since I'd called him around midday. I took a seat in the rocking chair in the corner of the deck that looked out down the drive toward Hummingbird Road. I didn't bother to turn it around, I simply sat down and took a few deep breaths to try and calm myself down. Of course it didn't work. "Is something wrong?" _

_I couldn't decide whether he was being honest or whether he was being purposefully naive; there had been problems between us for months now really when I looked back. It had taken the news that I'd got yesterday to finally tip me over the edge and pluck up the courage to make the decision that had been a long time coming. _

"_Yes," I started out, taking the blunt approach and hoping it was for the best. _

"_Tell me," he replied instantly and perched down on the wooden railing that wrapped around the house which meant he was once again too close to me for comfort but I couldn't very well move again now. _

"_I found some news out from Amelia yesterday," I began again but that was as far as I got before he interrupted me. _

"_What has she been telling you? She's never liked me; I'd wager that she's told you a lie." _

"_Bill, just let me talk; please don't interrupt. This is just the final straw, this would have happened eventually anyway but this was just the catalyst." Even given the circumstances I gave myself a pat on the back for using that science word in everyday conversation. _

"_Okay."_

"_We need to stop seeing each other." I held up my hand, stopping him from speaking as he'd already opened his mouth to interrupt me again. "We need to break up. There's no one else, so don't get jealous. But, Amelia told me about Selah and about Lorena. I have to admit I had my suspicions about Lorena but Selah! No, I'm not going down that route. I know you've cheated on me Bill and that just isn't forgivable. I'm sorry for causing you pain but you caused me so much pain while we've been together. I was never in a hospital before I met you, my heart never hurt before I met you. I can't take it anymore Bill. I can't see you anymore, not romantically, not as a friend." I nodded my head as I checked through everything I wanted to say. I couldn't physically say anything else without getting angry, without yelling and without cursing his name which I'd told myself I wouldn't do, I wouldn't stoop that low. _

"_That lying," he stopped himself before going any further and he stormed up, both of his hands running through his floppy fringe. "I can't believe she told you that, I didn't do anything Sookie!" He roared and the mere volume had me shrinking back into the wooden chair, my hands darted out of my pockets to fold over my chest protectively. "You believed her? Over me?"_

"_Bill," I whimpered out as he struck a supporting pole with his fist, sending splinters of woods showering out. I fell back as much as possible, sending the chair rocking back into the side of the house and I pulled my legs up into my chest. _

"_Sookie, how could you!" His hand drew back, hand open and I screamed out, my eyes closed in preparation for the pain. _

_It wasn't the blow that I was expecting it was a gentle tugging on my waist by a gentle hand and I pulled away from it, trying desperately to get up. "Bill, stop it."_

"_Sookie!" _

I gasped into consciousness with my eyes springing open and chest heaving once more as I gasped for air to ground myself. The touch on my waist wasn't Bill, wasn't a slap that I knew came and really connected with my cheek and pushed my head to the side painfully. Eric was looming above me, hair a complete mess around his handsome face and true concern written across his features. There was no blow coming, only safety in this Vampires arms.

"Are you okay? What happened?"

"Bad dreams, worse memories," I replied quietly and shrunk back into the bed, letting the warmth comfort me along with the cool body beside me. My eyes fluttered shut and I listened intently to my own breathing, it was the only sound in the room. Eric's hand rested on my waist with his finger tips tracing lazy circles there and I could feel his face near mine, sharing my pillow but I couldn't hear him at all and there was only that one point of actual contact.

"Tell me," he whispered after a couple of minutes when my breathing had returned to a normal, deeper rhythm. My eyes sprang open and I searched for him in the darkness; it didn't take much since his skin held a faint pearlescent glow and he was so close to me. Even with barely any light I could make out the startling blue of his eyes and I could read the concern in them as he stared at me. Without any warning I was pulled against him, my back tucked into his chest and his arm wrapped around my front so that his hand could grip mine that were resting near my heart. His legs folded in as much as they were able to behind me so that as much of our naked bodies were touching as possible, he was cool but not unpleasantly so; the warmth we'd created in the bed had seeped into his skin, warming him up a little.

"I don't know if I can," I muttered quietly. It wasn't that I didn't know if I could trust him with the information, if there was anyone here who I could it would be Eric. It was more a question of how much I could tell him that would still let the entire story make sense, and whether I could get it all out without crying. I'd shed enough tears for Bill Compton. Also, the only other person that knew pretty much the entire story was Amelia who had helped me through with the saga from the very beginning, even then I'd never had to tell her everything in one go, she'd had firsthand experience of a lot of it.

He didn't say anything else, probably understanding that pushing me wasn't going to get me speaking any faster. He would make a good interrogator I thought irrationally; he knew when to wait people out, I'd seen that he would be able to stare people down and he had an air around him at times that said he knew he had the upper hand; it was just a matter of time. At the minute he wasn't anything like that, he was gentle and soft, keeping me close and giving me the comfort that I both wanted and needed. I could feel him breathing as well, something he really didn't need to do, it was slow and deep and I found myself trying to match my own breaths to his.

"I'm not sure where to start and I'm not sure how much you know." I started out, pushing my head back underneath his chin. I felt so safe wrapped up like that, he was so much larger than me, so much stronger he could literally snap me in half if he wanted yet I felt the safest I had in a very long time.

"I'll listen, just talk," he whispered back, keeping his voice free of anything but understanding and he even added a little kiss just underneath my ear.

"Well, it started about two and a half years ago now, though I'm definitely still feeling the repercussions of my decisions. I believe the saying that you should never regret the decisions you make, only regret the choices you didn't make. He makes it very difficult not to regret that whole period in my life. I'll just start at the very beginning.

"I met Bill on a very humid summer evening just as the bar, Merlotte's was closing."

"_Hey!" I shouted out loudly after closing the lid on the skip bin behind the bar. There were two people crouched down near the tree line just to the side of Sam's trailer. They weren't exactly in plain view since that was the staff parking lot but they would be out of view from general patrons of the bar. With a sinking heart I recognised the stooped figures of Mack and Denise Rattray and I knew they were up to no good, I didn't have to use my telepathy to figure that one out. It's a shame I didn't have better control to hear them from all the way over there. "You okay over there?" I shouted again, hoping to just get a quick 'yeah' so that I could head back inside and leave them alone. I had no such luck, I was completely ignored and I just couldn't handle leaving someone in potential danger if I knew about it, even if the people involved were the Rattrays. _

_I walked toward them, treading as loudly as possible on the gravel to alert them to my presence. They didn't even glance upward although Denise did fall backward onto the grass with her arms above her head, a tourniquet still fastened around her upper arm. "Oh no," I muttered to myself as I took one more step and came to a stand-still. If they were doing drugs I was in way too far over my head. That was when Mack fell to the ground, landing on his right side a syringe still grasped in his grimy hand and just to cap off my run of bad luck his eyes landed straight on me. _

"_Well looky what we have here," he grinned manically, showing off all of his yellow teeth. I turned on my heel and ran as fast as possible but I hadn't gone more than three steps when powerful hands clamped down on my waist and picked me up with my legs still kicking into thin air. _

"_Where do you think you're going? We've had us some V darlin', you can join in the fun." His voice sounded close to me, much too loud to be that close to my ear, giving me my first dose of pain. _

"_No!" I screamed out as loudly as possible with all the air being squeezed out of me with an alarming strength. Panic began to set in, burning through my veins and I fought with all my strength to get away. _

"_Don't wad your panties," he leered and emphasised his words with an extra squeeze that sent me gasping. "You're not getting any of the good stuff, don't mean me and Denise can't have some fun though." At that moment a hand grabbed my hair, yanking my head back until I was looking into the aged face of Denise, a snarl on her ugly face. A harsh slap soon followed that left my head snapping around, making an instant splitting headache spark behind my eyes. Then I was on the ground, curled up into a tight ball, my eyes held shut tightly and the only thing I could feel was pain. Agony so over powering that I almost wished for death just so that I couldn't feel. _

"_Sookie, drink this if you want to live, it'll make the pain go away." I squinted out of slits that were left of my eyelids to see kind brown eyes gazing down at me from under a floppy chocolate fringe. I hadn't even been aware that the beating had ended, I had no idea how much time had passed; the pain had long since merged into one instead of different blows. _

"_Wha..." the word almost formed in my throat but I just couldn't get it out; my jaw wouldn't work properly. _

"_I'm Bill Compton," he replied clearly and somewhere deep in my mind I recognised the name as being my new vampiric neighbour. "Take my blood." His wrist, which was slick, was placed over my parched lips. Slightly metallic blood, almost sweet, trickled into my mouth and I just had enough strength to swallow, to take away the pain and seal my fate. _

"He just fed you his blood? No explanation, no further warning?" Eric's tone was hard, icy, anger filling his voice yet it was still quiet. A shiver ran down my spine just hearing it, even though I knew it wasn't me he was enraged with. It was a good thing for Bill, even though he probably deserved it; that he was wasn't on the same continent, at least I hoped he wasn't over here. At my shiver I was pulled back into him, if that was at all possible; I could feel his hard muscles pressed snugly into my back and I relaxed again.

"Yeah, that was all he said, it was me that swallowed it. I didn't have to." It was a weak defence, I honestly did know that, but I felt like I was defending myself, not Bill.

"Technically yes, but no human I've ever met would have just waited for death over taking some blood. You deserved more than a name. If you were attempting to speak and you could see him, he had enough time." It was scary that he knew how close to death someone could be and still take in some explanation, that he knew the signs without even seeing the injured person.

"Would you have done anything differently?"

"If it was a human I didn't know, so had no feelings what so ever for, I wouldn't have done anything at all, perhaps call an ambulance maybe stopped the attack; but no blood. It was humans with humans." His brutal honesty was both scary and reassuring together; his words really drove home the extent of his vampire nature but the fact he didn't lie just to make me feel better helped.

I began to roll over, more like leaning considering how tight his grip on me was but he relaxed his arms, allowing my movement. My head rested against his shoulder so that I could breathe in the unique masculinity that was simply Eric and vampire; I'd only ever smelt anything like it on one other vampire. Strangely enough, Bill didn't have even a hint of it. Eric relaxed back into the mattress and pulled me with him so that I was half lying on him and half on the bed. My hand was relaxing on his chest, lazily tracing my finger tips over his well defined abs.

"What happened then?"

"Well, I got better obviously but I took a lot of blood that night; my telepathy was easier to control. I didn't really think about it at the time but I think that was why I was drawn to Bill so much. I also found out later, months later, that he'd given the Rattrays the blood; well provided them means to get it somehow, I never quite figured it out. He planted the idea in their heads to take it intravenously, knowing it would get in their system faster. He watched as they beat me so that he could save me, killing them when they'd done their job." That part still hurt me to admit, that a person, even a vampire, could sadistically set up someone to be beaten to death, watch and then save the person.

"Why?" He nuzzled his nose into my hair and he breathed deeply, my hand on his chest rose with the motion and I couldn't resist sighing.

"Which bit?"

"Why did he set everything up if he hadn't even met you?" His hand, the one that was still wrapped around me, began to trail up and down my side, going up so far that his thumb just grazed the underside of my breast.

"Well, that's complicated. He knew strange things ran in my family, having seen them firsthand when he was alive and he'd heard things about me when he came to Bon Temps to move back. He found out they were true and again, I don't know the details just the general stuff, I know he wanted me for something. The way he left me was worse."

"_Sookie?" A gruff voice called for me in my favourite southern accent, the sort that could only be achieved after a couple of centuries. _

"_I'm in here," I replied back with a smile since he was already walking through the door and into my bedroom of the hotel suite we were staying in. "What's up?"_

"_Sophie Anne requests your presence." He wrapped his arms around my waist, resting his chin on my shoulder but it was too late, my spine had already stiffened as soon as he'd said 'your' instead of 'our'. _

"_What do you mean? We're supposed to have two more nights alone together before we speak to the Queen."_

"_She arrived earlier than expected and I can't disregard my Queen's orders, you must go to her now." He placed a gentle kiss to the side of my neck and I shrank away from him, slinking out of his arms so that his proximity wouldn't drain away my anger. _

"_Why only me? I can't do this alone!" The Queen scared me, petrified would have been a closer term for the feeling she evoked deep in my bones. I'd first been introduced to her about three months ago as Bills Date, she was interested in me since she'd learned that I had some intriguing quirks. Bill had always been by my side during our encounters, even when I'd been forced to start working for her. Blackmail is a really strong term, so is hate, but I truthfully wanted to use them here._

"_You have to, she no longer wants me there with you. You need to show her that you're powerful enough to stand alone in this. I can't help you here anymore."_

"_But I'm your girl," I replied weakly as I sank down onto a corner of the very plush bed. _

"_I know."_

"That was how he turned you over? He got you, involved you with the Queen and then left you, used you?" The angry tone was back; even icier than before.

"Yes."

"And you didn't just immediately dump his pathetic ass?" Even given the somewhat awful situation, well conversation topic, I smiled at his choice of words; he sounded so modern.

"No, I thought I was in love. Okay, I really was in love with him, or at least what I thought he was. My First." I didn't bother embellishing how many firsts that Bill had been to me; that was probably left quiet. "He talked his way out of it but things were never quite the same between us after that."

A deep growl reverberated in Eric's chest then, I could feel it rumbling underneath my head. It was another comforting moment; that even another vampire thought Bill was a pathetic lowlife.

"When did you finally leave him?"

"Urgh," I groaned, wrinkling up my nose in disgust at the mere thought. I'd already had a nightmare about that; it really wouldn't be pleasant to consciously think about it. I'd told him the rest; I might as well finish the tale. "Well." Then, right at that moment, there was a loud rapping on the door. "I'm really beginning to hate that." I muttered, remembering the other times I'd been disturbed by knocking and I earned a slight chuckle from Eric too.

"Go away, we don't wish to be disturbed," he called out, not too loudly but his voice carried with a crystal clear clarity.

"Let me in, you must obey your Queen." I had a feeling that Eric wanted to make his own disgusted noise yet he managed to refrain, I have to say that the same can't be said for me.

He leaned down, without even a glance toward the bedroom door, placing one hand underneath my chin and tilting my head up. He kissed me, his lips lingering just a little too long for it to be chaste and just long enough for me to kiss him back.

"Stay here, we haven't finished," he whispered, not explaining which bit exactly we hadn't finished, I knew what I was yearning for and it wasn't a conversation. He kissed me again cutting off all sensible thought. I was rolled over onto my back so that he was looming over me, the delicious length of his naked body pressed into mine. The next instant he was gone, leaving me wanting, needing more. Of course I got some satisfaction when I rolled over to search for him and saw him standing beside the bed, his boxer only pulled up to mid thigh. My prize was a glimpse of his glorious butt, the kind that made me instantly want to grab him, have him in my arms again like he'd been only an hour before. I was pretty sure sculptors would want to carve something so good, immortalising him, well if he wasn't already immortal anyway. Sadly, it really was only a glimpse and then he was walking toward the bedroom door which lead to the living room where the knocking had been coming from. That was a worthy sight all on its own.

"What do you want?" I heard him call out a couple of seconds later; the bedroom door had been shut after him but I could still hear his voice quite clearly. The Queen's response was unintelligible to me; I could hear a jumbled high pitched shrieking type reply but not her actual words.

Sighing I sat up on the bed, clutching the blanket around my chest, feeling the need to be covered up even though I was alone, and looked around the room in search of my clothes. From my position on the bed I could barely see anything, just Eric's jeans in a heap near the door. How they'd got there I couldn't recall. I got up, clambering, and gently padded toward the door with the blanket now wrapped around me. That's when I saw the clothes carnage; my bra was in two halves, one partially hidden under the bed and the other draped over the chair in the corner. My panties, at least that's what I thought it was, were just a mess of lace and cotton. My shirt was at least in one piece, though quite ragged. On a positive note my jeans and socks were in perfect condition.

"Sookie!" Eric called out and my head snapped up just in time to see Sophie Anne walk into the bedroom. It was lucky that I only had my jeans in hand and hadn't begun to get dressed yet, I had no desire for the Queen to see me in any more an uncompromising position.

"So this is where you've been hiding out." She giggled, an honest to God tinkling laugh that actually suited her teen-like appearance. "I should never have tried keeping him away from you; I should have kept you away from him." She walked further into the room, and perched down on the little chair in the corner after having flicked what remained of my bra off of the back. "Sookie, dear, dear Sookie. What have you done?"

"Sophie Anne, what do you want?" Eric asked before I could form a sentence and I recognised the same icy tone that he'd had when we were talking about Bill.

"I was looking for Miss Stackhouse here, by myself," she added as though it was a big deal to be doing something on her own. "I tried her room and the restaurant and couldn't find her. I was coming here to send you to find her. But what do I find; she's here. I could smell her, what you two have been doing before I even knocked on the door." She shook her head slightly, a mischievous glint in her eyes. "Tell me Sookie, is he really as good as people say?"

I paled at her words, not knowing how to answer such a ridiculous question; I wasn't going to think about his previous, ah, encounters, it was better to think of it as extended practice time which meant I got a phenomenally good time. Eric answered for me; well he didn't bother to even acknowledge the question actually.

"What do you want Sophie? Do you have a problem with me and Sookie being together?" I couldn't help the little flutter that my heart gave when I heard him say that, it would be truly spectacular to have him as my boyfriend and to really get to know him. I didn't say anything, even though I was desperate to clear up his intentions; he probably just meant together tonight.

"I wanted to speak to Sookie and in answer to your question, I just don't want you taking her away, she's too valuable to me and to the state." I felt the tension level rise tenfold instantly and my mind scanned back to the almost fight in the alleyway after the fire alarm had gone off, I couldn't let it escalate to that in here.

"What did you want to ask me?" I piped up, taking a seat on the bed so that I didn't have to grasp the blanket which was still my only protection quite so tightly. To get dressed I'd risk showing everything and although neither of them would mind, I would, or I'd have to leave the room which wouldn't be acceptable.

"Did you pick up on anything tonight?" She asked with a carefully blank face, showing absolutely no emotion like only a vampire can.

"No," I replied straight away, making sure I kept my face carefully schooled. "There were only vampires present, and the demon of course but he had too much supernatural blood for me to get anything."

"Okay then." She didn't sound like she believed me totally but it was the best answer she was going to get. I'd be dead before I could blink if she found out I'd read a vampire mind. "Did you pick up anything at the fair?"

"No, but I wasn't listening intently," my gaze slipped over to Eric, giving away exactly what my mind had been paying close attention to.

"Urgh!" She growled in a completely unfeminine manner. "This is one of the reasons you two were never supposed to meet. Do I have any chance of stopping you being together?" She aimed this question at Eric and I noticed it was the only smart thing that she'd said during our conversation. The question sounded more rhetorical as though she already knew the answer. Eric only shook his head slightly with a large smirk plastered across his face. "I thought not. Now, you," she turned her pretty little head towards me giving me a glare that sent a chill down my spine, "concentrate on your job or there will be consequences." I didn't want to know what the consequences would be; I just had a feeling that she wouldn't be bothered to sticking within the limits of the law. "You will do as Isay. You're lucky I don't need you for the rest of the night or this would have ended badly. Tomorrow night I don't require you until 11pm, there is a meeting that everyone is attending, we need you to be our ears." I nodded, unable to make my voice work. "As for you," she turned to Eric and even pointed a petite finger at him, which seemed a little ridiculous; I could barely contain my irrational giggles at the situation as I thought about what it must look like to an outsider. There was a giant of a man standing almost between the Queen and me; dressed only in boxer briefs with his muscular arms folded over his chest, long hair pale and wild around his gorgeous face. I was clad only in a blanket that was clutched desperately to my chest as though if either of the vampires attacked it would save me. The Queen was the best; she was wearing one of her beautiful cream sweeping gowns that trailed to the floor and she was sitting straight up in the arm chair, her finger pointed at the man across the room who was more than double her size and age.

"You should have known better, do not, I repeat do not do anything to endanger her or it's your head." A smile broke out across Eric's face at that and I had a feeling he was now suppressing his own laughter. "I will see both of you tomorrow, this place stinks." She crinkled up her nose in disgust before standing up swiftly and disappearing through the doorway into the living room. I heard a thud as the main door to the suite closed firmly behind her, leaving me alone with Eric which was a hell of a lot more comfortable.

"Why is she like that?" I asked, exasperated with the Queen's antics and finally relaxing my grip on the sheet a little, though I did make sure I was still sufficiently covered.

"She is crazy," he replied with a shrug of his shoulders. While running a hand through his hair he stepped towards me, taking a seat next to me on the bed. He didn't stay there long, almost instantly he flopped backward, well that wasn't an accurate description since he made absolutely no bump as he hit the mattress. The control that vampires had over their body was unbelievable at times, just not when any form of lust was upon them or if they were in the presence of fairies.

"Do," I stuttered over my words here, scared about the answer but knowing I needed to find out the answer to this question since I really wasn't going to ask him what he meant by 'together'. "Do I need to leave?" He turned his head slowly to stare at me, his eyebrows curved into a question of his own.

"Why would you need to leave?" He rolled over onto his side, head resting on one hand as he continued to stare up at me through surprisingly dark eyelashes for someone so blond.

"With the Queen," I started out but as soon as the last word was said I was cut off.

"Don't pay any attention to her, you have free will, I have free will and her threats are not worth considering. I am more powerful than her and we both know it. Only leave if you want to leave, I don't want you to." A grin spread out across his face, making him come alive and I couldn't help but smile back.

"I have one more question for you," he nodded his head here, telling me to continue. "Do you ever do anything that she tells you to?"

"Yes." It was my turn to raise my eyebrows at him, another smile already tugging at the corners of my lips. "When I was already planning on doing what she suggested." We both laughed, deep and heartily; it felt good to let go of all the tension and to not care about anything for a few seconds. My hands slipped away completely from the blanket and I suddenly found myself completely bare. The next thing I knew was that I was at the top of the bed, a giant of a man leaning over me with his eyes staring intently at my lips and his naked body pressed along mine.

"We never finished talking," I giggled, doing some of my own staring.

"Oh yes," he replied without looking up at my eyes at all, he also sounded completely distracted, I happened to know exactly where his thoughts were directed since his gracious plenty was digging into my thigh. "What happened next?" He bent his head then, his lips brushing ever so slightly over mine as he planted an open mouthed kiss just beside my mouth.

"He cheated, I dumped him." My hands began to wander down his body, feeling along the intricate lacing of muscles down his back and my voice was rather breathy already.

"Good for me," he whispered against my skin, his cool breath breezing over the sensitive flesh of my neck.

I forgot about everything else again, only bothered about me and him, wrapped up in each other. His lips kissed up and down my neck while his hands roamed over my body, even dipping inside me which made me moan loudly, arching up into him. I wrapped my legs around his waist, tugging him further into me, creating delicious friction between us that only left me begging for me. My hands worked back up until my fingers could wrap into his thick hair, a grip I used to pull his face up so that I could capture his lips with mine.

There were absolutely no pretences this time, even less warning than last time; just a complete hunger and need. I squeezed my legs around him tighter, trying to get what I desperately needed. He didn't give in. His tongue snuck into my mouth to dance with my own, exploring everything he possibly could. My tongue wound around his fangs, scraping just the less painful side of drawing blood until I could feel him groaning in my arms. I'd soon had enough of that, we weren't connected enough for my liking. I pricked the tip of my tongue on his right fang, enough to draw a droplet of blood that sent him into a small frenzy as soon as he tasted it.

"Sookie," he growled out, barely drawing back from my mouth, in fact he still had my bottom lip pulled between his teeth. "You asked for it," he added again, a few more inches further away so that we were staring at each other with lust filling our eyes. Then he thrust into me, filling me so completely that I screamed out an unintelligible garble.

"Bite me," I whispered to him between ragged breaths, needing another point of contact between us, another part of him inside me. I witnessed a brilliant grin spread across his features before he buried his face into the side of my neck, breathing deeply so he could take in my scent. His tongue licked my skin and his breathing stopped, his heart didn't beat but he was so alive with energy, he literally made my skin tingle. Then, just as I was about to start pulling him further down toward me, if that was at all possible, he struck. There was the moment that he struck that was full of pain, but it was so much intermingled with the pleasure that was searing through my body that it just didn't matter, it was just something else to feel.

A building of pressure at first and then it all released as my blood began to spill into his mouth, and was swallowed instantly. His tongue flickered over the small wounds as soon as he retracted his fangs from my neck, that's when he began to suck, deep and powerfully as he drew my essence into him. Then it went beyond, to a different sensation in another part of my body that added to the heaven that was about to rip me apart. I couldn't make out the exact sensation anymore; all I knew was that it was good.

I groaned out again, a strangled cry that only fuelled Eric on. There was a deep rumbling of appreciation coming from his chest that I could feel through my body. Then with one more thrust I went toppling over the edge into darkness again, taking Eric with me.

I finally regained full cognitive process about an hour after round two, well technically it would be round three but I wasn't counting. Too much. I was curled up on my side with Eric wrapped around me, perfectly still in his slumber. He'd stayed awake for about half an hour, nuzzling into my side a little more gentle than I'd imagined he was able to be but then sunrise had dragged him into a deep sleep. He was silent and unmoving yet I still felt completely safe tucked up into him. One of his arms was hugging my waist, making sure I was pressed as tightly into him as possible, while his other arm was underneath my pillow and his legs were folded just behind mine.

I couldn't sleep, even though the room was pitch black and silent, nothing happened when I closed my eyes. I was tired, mentally and physically, but I just couldn't switch my mind off enough to relax. It was a wonderful time of day for thinking, the sun was up so all the vampires were dead to the world, not that they made much noise, and the humans were all still asleep so their minds were silent to me. I could really think, with my shields at their most relaxed. It wasn't exactly helpful on the sleep aspect.

Thoughts were circling my mind. It took me a few minutes to recognise what I was feeling; worry. More so than the general sense of worry that I kept with me every day due to associating so much with vampires, this was above and beyond. I had everything about Caleb to think about; to add to my previous list I now had his reaction to me being with Eric to add to my list. It was no real secret that he really didn't like Eric, and I had a distinct feeling that the feeling was mutual.

But the worst thing I was worrying about was the most superficial thing, the one that really shouldn't have been occupying my mind at all; Eric. I didn't really know him. I didn't know his history or what his intentions were with me or what his apparent lack of trust in the Queen meant. I was also desperate to know what would happen to us now that we'd had sex. I wasn't delusional to think there was anything even close to love between us, yet. He did seem like the kind of man I could love given a bit of time. My other predominant thought was what would happen once we got back to America; we lived in neighbouring towns, yet we'd never met each other before. Sophie Anne would probably make attempts to put us together if she ever learned that we split up, or stopped sleeping together, she would make every endeavour to make us meet on a regular basis, just out of spite.

At some point during the early hours of morning I must have fallen asleep because the next thing I knew there was a severely annoying ringing sound that brought me back to consciousness. The arm that I knew, even in sleep, had been wrapped around my waist was gone and I felt surprisingly alone. The cool body of Eric was still lying beside me, well, more like curled around mine. The ringing stopped then and I barely had time to realise it had been a phone, my cell phone precisely, that was ringing and not some annoying alarm.

"Hello?" Eric's voice, rough with sleep, answered and I felt my stomach drop. Whoever it was on the other end of that phone wouldn't be pleased to hear an obviously sleepy man answering my phone.

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**So what did you think? Who is on the phone? Please don't kill me about the heavy Bill involvement, i tried to make up for it with the lemony goodness and this means he won't really be cropping up know i love feedback almost as much as i love a certain viking vampire. **

**This weeks title, The Secret's in the Telling, comes from a song by Dashboard Confessional of the same name. **

**Thanks to everyone who reviewed, i can't believe the amount of wonderful feedback i'm getting for this story, makes me very happy. **

**Have a great weekend guys**

***hugs*  
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	9. Heart of Treason

**Hey guys, **

**how are you all doing? I'm pretty good. I'll let you in on a little secret, i'm actually typing this thursday night, i'm just too evil to actually set this chapter up as a new one until tomorrow :) I'm going home for the weekend tomorrow so uploading it now means you will actually get it tomorrow, granted it will be late as i'm going to a bonfire with my friends. **

**In this chapter I reference Koko Kanu, if you haven't tried it, I recommend it. Koko kanu and coke has become my favourite drink, just think malibu and coke times ten. Plus it's stronger so you can drinker fewer which is better on the ol' wallet. Not much as happened really since last friday, just a lot of studying. **

**So, I want to say a massive thank-you to my betas campyrs and trajedy99, really couldn't do it without them. Charlaine Harris owns the wonderful Southern Vampire Mysteries, and on with the chapter! **

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"Give me the phone," I whispered frantically as I rolled over to face him. I turned out to be eyelevel with his navel since he was now sitting up, resting against the headboard which meant I could intimately see the trailing of light brown hair leading down. I wasn't to be distracted though and I stretched up, reaching desperately for the phone which he wasn't letting me get anywhere near.

"Oh, I'm sorry Ms Stackhouse," Eric replied to whatever was said over the phone after several seconds of conversation that I just couldn't hear, no matter how much I wanted to. My telepathy didn't work over the phone, before I'd been grateful but not at this minute. It was my Gran; that was the worst person I could imagine to have been calling. "She was sleeping and I was trying not to wake her."

"Give me that," I growled out in my most menacing tone which didn't make even a little bit of difference; he remained relaxed and smiling. I quickly sat up, not bothered about my nakedness as I began to grapple for the phone which was completely out of my reach.

"Can I help you at all?" Another slight pause, a broad grin and then he spoke again. It was killing me inside to only hear his half of the conversation. I was coming up with the worst things that my Gran could be saying. I was already dreading the inevitable conversation with my Gran where I would try to explain this situation.

"I'm sorry, I'm forgetting my manners." His voice held no trace of sleep now but a rather strong accent to what I'd become accustomed to. "I'm Eric Northman. Yes, that's right." He gazed down at me with mischief sparkling in his brilliant eyes. In a move I wouldn't have guessed was possible, even if he had two spare hands, I ended up with my back against his bare chest and both of my wrists gripped carefully in one of his hands. "Oh, the best. I understand that the past was a little rough, I am nothing like that." He turned toward me again, his eyebrows wiggling and crimson flared across my cheeks at the thought of him being rough in an entirely wonderful way; he had shown me that edge to himself at some point during the night. "She will be treated like the lady she is." I could only cringe at what she could be asking to evoke that response.

"Is Sookie doing okay?" I heard my Gran with her wonderfully polite telephone voice and I realised only then that he was holding the phone closer to me than before so I could hear both sides of the conversation. "She didn't call last night and I was getting a little worried."

I instantly felt guilty about making her worry, especially when I didn't have a good reason for not calling her, well I did, just not one that I could actually tell her. I was kind of ashamed in myself too about the fact that I hadn't even considered calling her at any point, I hadn't even remembered that I was due to call her.

"She's fine, just tired out. I'm afraid it was my fault that she didn't call last night." Mortification swept through me followed swiftly by tension that had all my muscles tightened and fighting against the hold I was in. I needed to get to that phone before any more damage was done.

"Oh, and just why is that young man?" I cringed at her choice of words; he was old enough to be her ancestor, older than she could probably comprehend. She must have assumed he was a vampire, most people I knew were these days and I'd had the impression earlier that she'd assumed that he was the vampire I'd told her about.

"I work for Sophie Anne too," he shot me a glance that seemed to be asking how much my Gran knew about the work I did for the vampires. The honest answer was that I just didn't know; I told her as little as possible to try and keep her safe but she was intelligent, she'd put more information together than she ever spoke about. That was also a downside of a telepath living with someone; you picked up on things you just didn't want to know. "We were both working last night and I made her accompany me on an errand. We got back really late and just ended up crashing in my double suite." His information was vague enough that I would easily be able to follow it and detailed enough that my Gran would buy it.

"Oh, well best not wake her then. When she wakes up just get her to call me okay? It was nice speaking to you Eric." I could just imagine her petite frame folded up on the stool she kept by the phone with the little notepad sat beside it on the counter.

"No problem, nice speaking with you too. Goodbye Ms Stackhouse."

"Oh, it's Adele," she added. "Goodbye." Eric promptly hung up the phone, tossed it aside and slouched down on the bed pulling me with him.

"Why did you do that?" I asked with pretend menace while I rolled over since his grip had relaxed enough for me to move. The conversation that I'd actually heard had put me at ease quite a bit, it was bad, there was no getting around it, but it could also have been a hell of a lot worse.

"I wanted to have some fun," he replied, shrugging his massive shoulders that made me jostle too. "I didn't intend it to be like that, I just wanted the inane ringing to stop."

"How did you even hear it? Shouldn't you be dead asleep?" I'd seen several vampires during the day over the past couple of years, Bill mainly, and they'd always been completely comatose dead during daylight hours.

"It's evening Sookie, the sun is going down in about an hour, this is quite late for me. Your grandmother seems very nice."

"Ugh," I sighed and flopped down onto his chest, giving up hope of getting straight answers out of him.

"I have a plan to make it up to you," he whispered into my ear, getting my attention straight away so that I looked up at him intently. There was that glint of mischief again; something about the statement wasn't exactly as it seemed.

"How do you plan that?" I asked with my hand trailing light circles on his chest and the muscles deep in my stomach already clenching tightly in anticipation.

"Not sex," he chuckled and I knew the disappointment I felt was evident on my face. "Not just now anyway, there's something I want to show you first. Later." He promised and I decided then that I would hold him to his word. "We're going out so you'll want to get dressed in the remnants and then go get changed. I'll have you back in plenty of time for tonight's assignment with the Queen and so that you can call your Gran."

An hour later we were walking out of the hotel, I was being guided along by his large hand clutching mine, and we used the same door as before. There was a faint white noise audible throughout the entire lobby area, no distinct words were clear but the general tone of anger and hatred was clear; the guardians had strengthened their blockade outside. I thought they were a rather stupid bunch of people; no one was using the front door anymore and they hadn't gone to investigate any other possible ways in or out. Similar to a couple of nights ago there was transportation waiting for us, the difference being it was a taxi this time rather than a cyclist.

"You like your secrets don't you?" I asked him rhetorically since the answer was clearly evident. We were sitting; he had his arm slung around my shoulders, in the back of the taxi and the driver wasn't paying us any attention at all. As far as I could tell he hadn't even flicked his gaze into the rear view mirror when he was at the junction with the main street coming out of the alley.

"Of course," he replied with a slight chuckle. "I wouldn't be very mysterious if I just blurted everything out now, would I?"

"You're strange," I added on without really thinking how my words could be misconstrued. It wasn't intended as an insult at all, more a general observation about his information sharing traits. My words didn't get me into much trouble this time though; an amused smirk and his eyebrows raised in query. "You're very straightforward when you tell something but you're also very careful about what information you do share. I can't weight it up."

"Again, the mysterious air." He barely suppressed a full out laugh at this and I realised he was in a truly good mood. I shook my head and left that conversation there; I wouldn't be getting anything useful out of him and I might as well sit back, watch the city passing by and wait for us to arrive at our destination.

It was only as we reached Tottenham Court Road that I began to get an inkling of where we were going since there were two main attractions really close to the tube station; the Dominion theatre and the British Museum. As we'd already been to the theatre during the past few days and the evening showing wouldn't be for awhile yet I had to guess at the British museum. My hopes were realised only a few minutes later when the taxi pulled up outside of an astoundingly big building that was spread out before us. Black metal railings encased the grounds in which it sat but even that didn't deflect from the sheer beauty and majesty of the place. The roof was triangular in shape, reaching up from stone pillars to depict carvings of people I couldn't recognise. The stone flagged entrance way was still teaming with people even at such a late hour; the sky had mere tinges of light on the horizon. I knew this because Eric had been very careful when we'd first stepped out of the hotel; it wasn't enough to really cause him any damage but he was very much aware of the vague presence of the sun.

"Thanks," I whispered in awe, not entirely sure whether I was speaking to Eric or the taxi driver who was just being paid. Somehow I ended up on the sidewalk in front of the museum, my hand curved around Eric's forearm and the taxi disappearing off down the road.

"I wish I had a car," Eric muttered quietly as he began to pull me into a walk toward the main entrance where a few other stragglers were walking too.

"Why?" I asked, not taking my eyes away from the building which seemed impossibly large to be in the middle of a city. The building sprawled where nearly every other building I'd seen had extended upward, this one really didn't although it was still very tall. But I could tell without even entering that it had impressive high ceilings; with rooms that were tall rather than having many stories.

"I like to drive," he answered simply and ushered me through the gate, breaking the little attention I'd been paying to his strange observation. "What do you think?"

"Amazing," I giggled since it sounded so pathetic when describing such a place; I'd never seen a museum like it. The pillars in front of us were stretching up to impossible heights, easily ten times my height and the spot lights on the ground lit it up with a magnificence that reminded me of the view from the London eye. I also happened to notice that a lot of the people, both men and women, were staring at us or more precisely Eric. Most held expressions of slight confusion, obviously trying to place the strange man with his towering height which was impressive by even today's standards, his loose and long pale blond hair, probably also the fact he was wearing a thin jumper in the freezing cold night. "I can't believe this place has free entry."

"Yes, all public museums do."

Then I stopped speaking, instead I put my trust in Eric to guide me and simply looked at everything we passed. The bricks that made up the building were huge and old, older than anything I was accustomed to. I found myself wondering how old the actual building was and what it had been used for before it was a museum or if that had been its original purpose. We went up a few steps and were under the shadow provided by the foyer, held up by the giant pillars at the front. A security guard checked my bags and then we were free to do as we pleased. There was another lobby that was completely enclosed and the room we walked through next. This was a library-type little room went off to our right, partially obscured by a semi closed door; and to our left a sweeping staircase wound off to areas we couldn't visit if the red ribbon was any indication. Then I was swept into a brilliantly lit atrium with a metal and glass panelled ceiling that casting intricate shadows on the floor.

The space was vast with a tower rising up in the middle that held several rooms itself, including an upper class restaurant that was only visible when you reached the top. Everything was white, giving the room a gleaming quality of light and openness creating a strange feeling of charm. To my left a visitor's information booth was set up with every shelf lined with different guide books and maps. The Staff were all smiling, probably counting down the minutes until their shift ended since it was so late in the day but they did seem genuine. We didn't head toward the booths or shops; instead we went straight forward toward the stairs that wrapped around the central tower. The steps wound slowly upwards, small flights with long plateaus in between for viewing the area below. We went right up to the upper level where there were, apparently, most of the Egyptology exhibits, according to the signs, which seemed to be drawing the biggest crowds.

"Where are we going?" I asked when we turned right at the top of the stairs, instead of continuing straight ahead with the rest of the people. I'd actually expected to be tired out by the time we reached the top but I wasn't, I'd been too busy concentrating on everything going on around me. My attention captured by the cases surrounding us, containing more history than I could believe from so many years ago that I had difficultly comprehending it; most of the items were even older than the man walking beside me.

"Europe from AD 300 to 1100," he replied instantly and I had a feeling this hadn't been his first visit to this museum. I was completely lost already, we reached the end of the rooms and turned right again, walking down what was essentially a long corridor of interconnecting rooms, walking straight past Roman Britain with all of the stone pieces and other artefacts that practically screamed out for my attention.

"Why?" The latter end dates had to have been when he was alive; he was a Viking, a honest to god warrior Viking, and I knew he was just over a thousand but I couldn't comprehend why he wanted to bring me here of all places. Vampires rarely shared their human history, it was seen as a great privilege to know about their years being truly alive and if he did want to tell me, he could have just said it.

"There are some items in here that I want to show you." I was just about to ask 'why' again when he continued on, obviously having guessed I was just going to ask another question. "Several reasons; it's interesting, I want to see them again myself and you shared your history with me, I think I should do the same." It took me awhile to digest all that information and the sheer fact he was going to be sharing his story with me. It must have been something important if he'd been here before to see the items on display. My attention was no longer held by the museum but the gorgeous man walking along with me, guiding me through what was a maze of rooms.

"Welcome to my history," he said softly when we reached the room. His voice had a strange tone, as though he was nostalgic and glad to be rid of the time we were both thinking about. I simply nodded in reply and scanned the room, trying to take everything in all at once. This room, like seemingly everything else including the actual building, was vast and contained more cases than I could count from this angle. The room encased eight hundred years of European history, including the Vale of York hoard, a find that I'd actually heard of before.

A quirking grin broke out across Eric's face when he saw the awe plastered across mine and he guided me over to a corner case where several silver pieces of jewellery was kept; bracelets, armlets, brooches, pins and some things that I just couldn't name. "What am I looking at?" I asked, hoping I wasn't breaking whatever thoughts were running through his head.

"Everything in here would be worn by a woman, there are pieces that come from different standings within the community. Top left is a broach that would have been worn by a woman married to a chief or a cherished warrior. This down here is a comb that would be used by a little girl, women tended to use smaller toothed items." He let me take in the items before me; it was made of antler, with only two of the teeth missing, which created an oddly beautiful dappled affect. The brooch was a Celtic pattern made of dim silver that I could imagine had been simply gorgeous with a high gleam during its day.

"What's the significance of that?" I asked, pointing to a silver band that was just to the right of the centre, the only explanation it had was a simple name tag reading _armlet, circa 975_.

"That is," he paused and I couldn't decide whether it was from emotion, which I couldn't comprehend, or just thinking about what he could say about it. I had a startling revelation a few seconds later when he started speaking again. "I gave my wife that bangle to celebrate the birth of our fourth child and a successful battle in which I'd just come back." I had to make sure my mouth wasn't gaping open. "The date is wrong," he continued with a slightly amused tone. "It was somewhat of an heirloom, I gave it to Aude in 948 but I know it had been made before 920 according to my mother."

"You had a family?" I whispered out with my brain severely lagging about the information it was receiving.

"Yes," he nodded slowly, staring down at the bracelet with a soft look in his eyes. He didn't say anything else for the longest time, he just stared, deep in thought at the case, with his eyes roaming over the items encased there but always coming back to rest on the bracelet. He was a gorgeous man, I had to admit the bracelet didn't hold my attention as much as Eric's strange behaviour. He ran his hand through his long hair, brushing it back behind him so that it slowly fell forward again. "Come with me," he said and I jumped when I heard him speaking, he'd been silent for so long.

"Okay," I replied. We were walking then, back the way we'd come until we were back at the top of the staircase. We didn't head down though, instead we went into the restaurant where we were immediately seated at a table for two. I'd barely begun looking at the menu when a glass of red wine was placed in front of me a bottle of opened blood was placed before Eric. "Wow," I mumbled at the speed of the service.

"I'll just take the blood, and whatever the lady wants," Eric told the waiter.

"Just the chicken sandwich please," I asked politely. We sat in silence again, me taking awkward sips from my wine and Eric seemingly as relaxed as ever as he lounged in his chair, playing idly with the label on the bottle of blood. I didn't want to start up this particular conversation and he didn't seem to be in any rush, luckily my sandwich was brought over in only a couple of minutes which left us in private to talk.

"Do you want to ask questions?" He asked quietly and without looking at me; his eyes had that glazed over quality that told me he wasn't entirely seeing me sitting before him.

"Yes, but why don't you just tell me what you want to," I offered him a small smile and took a bit of the sandwich to prevent myself from continuing on. I'd developed an odd fondness of talking too much in awkward situations. The sandwich, as a side note, was rather delicious and came with some sort of dressing that I couldn't name but complemented everything else in there.

"As you know I was, am, a Viking, a warrior at that but I never left my family settlement for more than a couple of weeks at a time. We weren't peaceful, don't get that impression, we just didn't go overseas to do our fighting. We hunted, we fought for our hunting rights among the local settlements and we helped in any battles taking place within walking distance of a few days. I married a girl from my village; it was not arranged but it also was not entirely my own doing. My family liked her, she was a social equivalent to us and our status would only be improved during our union since I was such a good fighter." He wasn't boasting at all during this, he was just being genuine; he had been a good fighter, from what I'd seen and heard from him he was still a fighter, probably better than ever. I also had a feeling that his way with women had been similar during his human years if I was reading into his description of how his marriage had come about the situation of his marriage correctly.

"I was young, our first child didn't survive more than a couple of days but we had more, four. Three boys and a girl." I struggled to imagine Eric as a father figure, he would do well with teenage boys who would look up to his impressive nature but I just couldn't see him even holding a child in his massive arms. It seemed like an alien concept. "As I said, my wife's name was Aude. I gave her that bangle during the wedding festivities and it had been passed down in my family for some time. I wasn't intended to have it; I was only the second oldest of surviving sons from my parents but due to death and sickness it was given to me. I was turned into a vampire when my eldest was just short of eight. I never saw any of my family again after that, I don't know exactly what happened to them and I'm not entirely sure what happened to the unborn one."

My eyes grew wide at that; his wife had been pregnant when he'd been changed, a child he would never see. It screamed of sadness to me yet he was quite openly telling me all of this. It wasn't full of emotion, though few ever are with vampires, but it didn't seem painful. I had to wonder whether the saying 'time heals all wounds' was actually true, if you really did give it enough; this man had had a thousand years to heal, just over actually.

"You shouldn't look like that Sookie, it was the way it was supposed to be. Many vampires never see their family again, it is better if they don't for everyone involved." He paused and looked at me, stared would be more accurate as though he could see every little mark on my face, every dark eyelash surrounding my blue eyes and every pore in my skin.

"But you had a child and you don't know if he survived!" I replied softly, keeping the harshness out of my voice. I didn't want children, at least not for a long time as I just couldn't conclude how having a baby and not having full control over my telepathy would go very well. My control got weaker as I grew more tired as well.

"I don't think he did, I think it was also a girl."

"How do you know?" I took another bite of my sandwich to prevent the wave of question I had from spilling out.

"A few years after, I came across a record of the village, it listed that Aude had died during childbirth and that the baby girl died shortly afterward. It only gave the year and since I was changed during January it could have been my daughter or a daughter from another marriage."

"Another," I started out but he continued over the top of me.

"Yes, it was standard to marry again if the husband died, as you can imagine it happened a lot. I know one of my brothers would have taken in my other children."

"How does it not bother you to not know?" He took a long sip of his blood before answering my question and he accompanied the drink by sweeping one his hands through his long hair.

"It did at first, but I've had a thousand years Sookie. Even after fifty I knew that whatever happened to them wouldn't really matter anymore; they would most likely have all already joined the gods." He shrugged his shoulders. "You have to remember when I became a vampire I changed, it isn't like today's young vampires who are freely accepted into society so can potentially keeps friends and family. I gave up that life and started a new one. I was practical and my maker didn't necessarily believe in emotions that ran deeper than lust." Oh, that would open up a whole new conversation; it just wasn't the time for that.

"So you turned your back on your family?" It was only after I'd said the words that I realised how horrible they could sound and I opened my mouth to retract them when he stopped me with his finger brushing against the back of my hand.

"Not exactly how it sounds," he flashed a grin at me and it was the first sign of the vampire I'd walked into the museum with earlier; up until now he'd been strange, more thoughtful than I'd seen him before. "I didn't get much choice when I was changed but now I wouldn't change what happened for anything. I love being a vampire, in so many ways it is better than my human existence and I've seen so many things that I couldn't even dream about then. It was difficult at first I admit freely now but I wouldn't change anything." I couldn't sit in my seat any longer; the story may not have affected him that much but it had definitely affected me. I could feel the hot prickling of tears starting in my eyes and a small lump had formed in my throat.

I stood up from my chair, ignoring his perplexed expression and crouched down in front of the giant Viking, placing my hands on his shoulders. Carefully I leaned forward and kissed his lips so softly I felt as though I was melting. He remained still beneath me for a moment before kissing me back with equal tenderness so that our lips barely moved. I poured all my emotion into that one kiss between us, letting him know exactly how I felt. Slowly I pulled back, sighing against him as I did so, with a slight smile playing across my lips. When my eyes opened and I could glance back up at him a second later there was a bigger grin on his handsome face; the nostalgic being from only a few seconds ago completely gone.

"Let's go back to the hotel," he said and took my hand to lead me back, having already deposited way too much money down on the table to cover the bill.

"Thank-you," I said when I found that we'd pulled up outside of the hotel, down the side alleyway again, and I laid a gentle kiss to his cheek. Well, I was aiming for his cheek but he twisted round smoothly so that our lips were in perfect alignment, it was tender sweet and full of emotion that just felt strange coming from a vampire. He pulled back slowly, letting our lips linger together for as long as possible; with his eyes still closed softly. It was a beautiful sight, one that I only saw by pure accident; his face completely relaxed, the edges of his mouth pulled up ever so slightly in happiness.

The moment was soon over and Eric moved to pay the taxi driver, no doubt giving him a hefty tip, before helping me out of the car. We walked silently back into the hotel and down the deserted staff corridor that we were now all using, at least I'd seen several guests going this way when I'd been in the lobby area. Eric's hand never left my waist as we walked, even though the space in the corridor wasn't really big enough for us to walk side by side.

"I have to leave you here," he whispered into my ear, still looking forward. "I need to go and get something from my room. Will you be okay on your own?" I nodded my head. "Good, because you have a nose for trouble and I'd hate to miss it, you provide way too much fun." His lips brushed against my ear with the last word, sending tingles through my body and then he was gone, leaving me alone walking toward the elevators.

It was only as I was waiting for an elevator to arrive that I realised that I didn't need to go to my room at all; my clothing was suitable for the meeting, I was actually wearing a shirt that the Queen thought was suitable for work and I barely had half an hour spare anyway. So, I turned around and headed toward the bar, thinking that a drink would help about now, one wouldn't be enough to hinder me in any way but it might just take the edge off of the meeting I had to sit through.

I took a seat on one of the bar stools near the middle of the bar and managed to get the bar tenders attention quite swiftly. "Koko kanu and coke please," I asked, finally remembering the name of a coconut rum that Sam had introduced me to awhile ago; it tasted similar to Malibu but it was stronger in alcohol percentage and flavour, so overall it was just plain better.

"Coming right up."

"Is this seat taken?" It was a voice; that sounded very cheesy using a fake deepness. When I glanced up I found Caleb standing beside me, his hand on the bar stool to my right and a broad grin stretching across his lips.

"No, go ahead," I replied with an uneasy smile in return. I turned back to face the bartender and I found that my fingers had automatically started thrumming an impatient beat on the wooden counter top. This was the first time I'd seen Caleb since I'd come to the conclusion that something just wasn't right about him; my senses were telling me to be careful and up until now I hadn't been but, I had to have more faith in myself. Just as all the vampires had noticed, I seemed to have a nose for trouble and I didn't want to find any more so even if my rational brain thought it was something silly I had to take notice. So, I didn't want to be sitting beside him at the bar with no one around to help if the need arose and Eric would be gone for at least another ten minutes.

"How are you doing? I haven't seen you in awhile," he indicated to the bartender, who had just placed my drink in front of me that he wanted a pint of Tetley's and something to eat.

"I've just been a little busy, been going into London to see a few more of the sights."

"Oh, go on your own?" He asked with a precision to his speech that I didn't really like but I was too busy thinking about what he could really want to know, and therefore trying to control my shields more than before, that I didn't fully comprehend what he was saying.

"No, I went with one of the vampires." I felt the moment that my words sunk in; my face drained of colour and my sixty watt smile was immediately plastered across my face.

"Who?" There was an edge to his tone now; his pretences were beginning to slide and I was beginning to get the edges of a wave of red anger. I couldn't get into his brain, it was impenetrable almost, somewhere between a shapeshifter and a vampire, but with a distinctly human pattern to it.

"Eric," I whispered back and I knew it was the wrong thing to say, the really bad thing was that there wasn't a right sentence to use as a reply. Caleb didn't like Eric, it was clearly evident but I just didn't know why.

"What have you been up to?" I asked trying to cover my tracks and covering up my too bright smile by taking a long sip from my drink. It didn't feel like Caleb knew that something was going on, that I'd picked up on the otherness about him.

"Just been hanging around really, nothing much." He shrugged his shoulders and took a deep swig from his pint before wiping his lips on the back of his hand.

I had a burning desire to ask him a question that had been plaguing me for awhile now, I just didn't know how he was going to take it. My body was full of tension; my shoulders were beginning to cramp and my fingers were gripping onto my glass so tightly my knuckles were showing white. "What is it exactly that you do for the vampires?"

"Oh, I'm their day time human," he replied easily.

"Don't you have any special jobs, you know like what I do?" I couldn't believe that he was merely their day time human; he was around too much, he knew too much about them and about the other groups, there was something deeper to it than that.

"Not really, definitely not as important as you Sookie," he replied. I wasn't important, at least they didn't treat me as important even though Sophie Anne was always saying that she needed me around for jobs. If I got that low level of respect for doing something that actually helped the vampires out, there would be no way that Caleb would have been allowed to come to England, this trip was classed as a privilege.

"Oh right, that's kinda cool," I mumbled in reply, having no idea what was the proper reply to a statement like that. I took another sip of my drink, letting the strong coconut flavour wash over my tongue, and I used the motion as an excuse to take a long hard look at the man sat beside me.

His hair was a mess, in a rather cute way that said he ran his hands through it too much and maybe he'd been for an afternoon nap, but it also desperately needed cutting. It was the in between length where it's a little bit too long to slick back and not quite long enough for him to be able to hook it behind his ears. It was still the same jet black as I remembered but his blue eyes, striking in their appearance, seemed to have more intelligence and cunning in them today. Whether my brain was just making me see what I almost expected, I couldn't tell; it was still unsettling though. I finally took in the rest of his body, I'd never really looked past his face except to note that he was quite tall. He was also lanky, slim on the side of being skinny and I could see the play of small muscles in his forearms that flexed with every little motion. It was then that I also noted he was completely relaxed, not an ounce of tension rested on his shoulders and it was that fact that helped me lose a little bit of my own tension. Not much.

"Are you going to the meeting tonight?"

"Yes," I replied and it was barely audible since he'd already started asking another question.

"Will you sit by me? My group are giving me lax instructions for tonight." I didn't want to sit next to him at all, now I was aware of his problems I wouldn't be able to concentrate on my duties and with the amount of humans, possibly shifters as well, I would be really needed. Luckily for me I did have an easy way out of it that I'm sure the other person involved wouldn't mind.

"I'm sorry but I can't, I have to sit with my group. The Queen requires my close presence so she can give clear instructions and Eric will be sitting with me too."

"Oh," he started out and then took a large gulp of his beer before he continued. "Why do you have to sit with him?" He emphasised the last word, elongating it slightly and wrinkling his nose in distaste, a motion that knocked about five years off of his age. "Are you two actually together?" He managed to get control of his tone for that utterance, making it sound more jovial, almost as though we were two girlfriends gossiping.

"Well, it's complicated," I started out and I felt like a cliché even as I was speaking.

"Complicated," he stated in a dead pan tone, clearly disbelieving me. It was actually the truth, I didn't know what the situation between me and Eric was, I really needed to ask him, but I had to admit it was also because I didn't want to tell Caleb. It wasn't any of his business.

"Well, yes, honestly it is. We're assigned together while we're here at the conference, he's acting sort of like a body guard in addition to his normal duties." He nodded his head slowly, digesting the information and obviously making his own conclusions with the little information I had given him; I could feel his brain working, I knew he was deep in thought I just couldn't tell what he was thinking.

"Potato chip?" He opened and then brandished a bag at me that I hadn't even been aware had been what he ordered for food. I nodded, being polite, and grabbed the bag to steady it as I reached in for a chip.

My fingers brushed his as I did so and his thoughts washed over me in a swarming torrent that I had absolutely no control over. I recoiled back in horror, snatching my hand back and holding it my chest as though that would protect my mind from his.

"I have to go," I stammered out as I shuffled out of my seat. "I need to meet Eric before the meeting," I added, trying to cover my tracks while every fibre in my body was screaming for me to get out of the room.

"You haven't finished your drink yet," he replied with an expression that somehow managed to show confusion and innocence both at once.

"Oh," I mumbled out and grabbed the glass, downing the entire contents that was still left, in one go, letting it burn slightly at the back of my throat. The rich coconut flavour was thick as it slid down and formed a lump where my throat met my chest since I was too stressed out. "Sorry," I muttered before I spun on my heel and walked as fast as I was able to out of the restaurant and into the lobby.

"Fuck," I whispered with as much intonation as I could infuse. I needed to find Eric, quickly, and I could only hope he wasn't on his way back down, because I wasn't going to be going to my hotel room. I headed toward the bank of elevators and pressed the call button. I waited restlessly, tapping my foot, as I watched the red numbers lighting up that the elevator was descending.

I was overcome with a sense of foreboding, an undecipherable urge to move away from where I was and just run. Move away and not look back, the only problem was I only had one place that I could possibly run to. Instead of fleeing I turned around and looked at the people milling around me. There was the Staff at the reception desks but they wouldn't be able to do anything even if they did believe me. Some vampires were heading toward the conference room; early for the meeting but again they were no help to me. I didn't know them and I was of no great importance so they wouldn't lift a finger to help me. On the flip side of that, it also meant they were unlikely to go against me either. There was no sign of Caleb though, I assumed he was still at the bar enjoying his potato chips, however I still had an overwhelming sense of dread.

When I turned around back to the elevator I found the person I least wanted to be there leaning against the marble wall between two metal doors. I flinched back, almost taking a step before a leering smile came across his face. All I could see from his brain was a cloud of red anger that matched the pin prick pupils and blood shot eyes of his rage.

"Now then Sookie, where do you think you're going? You don't run away from your friends, especially not into the arms of a vampire." I couldn't think properly, the only thought running through my mind was a consistent strain of _shit shit shit shit, _mingled in with an intermittent_ fuck._ I needed to get away from this situation.

"Caleb, you don't want this," I whispered out, hating our weak my voice sounded but I knew how helpless I really was against him, I'd seen inside his mind and I knew exactly what he was.

"Yes I do, and I'll get the reward for it too. I think the vampires will understand if I have a little fun first. Now," he pushed himself off of the wall and before I could take more than one step backward his vice like grip clamped down on my arm, faster than I would have thought possible for the amount of human he had in him. His hand covered my mouth before I could even attempt to scream and it smelt strange, rather sweet, but it took my strength. My hands beat against his chest, becoming weaker with ever swat until I couldn't even lift my arm. My last discernable thought, before the blackness engulfed me, was screaming for help in my head as though someone would be able to hear me. Too bad there weren't any other telepaths in the hotel.

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**So what did you think? You all knew this was coming with how this story opened up, and i know that none of you like Caleb. So, who knows what's different about him? You know I love feedback almost as much as i love a certain Viking vampire. **

**This weeks title, Your blood shot eyes will show your heart of treason comes from the Green Day song Viva La Gloria (little girl)  
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**So, that's it folks until next friday. Thanks for reading and have a wonderful week. **

***hugs*  
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	10. Let's Get Outta Here

**Hello!**

**How are you all doing? Good I hope. I'm pretty good, had animal handling classes today which was nice, seeing a live animal since most things we deal with are in the dissection room. I've had quite the busy week - went to see the Green Day music recording of their 21st Century Breakdown tour yesterday in Covent Gardens. Won tickets, very nice. Brought back wonderful memories. **

**I need to say a really big thank-you to my betas who got this chapter turned around in only a couple of days although the speed at which they check my work is unbelievable. So, thanks to campyrs and trajedy99. I want to warn you that I should be updating next friday, i'm really really hoping to do so but i have yet another busy week coming up - exam tomorrow, two of my friends are down visiting me for the weekend, i have a job interview on monday and it's my birthday on tuesday! I'll be the good ol' age of 19 :) And in celebration of said occasion a group of us are going for cocketails again. I should be worrying about my exam, but i can't physically work anymore or i'll fall asleep on my keyboard so i'm thinking about what i'll order raspberry collins, frozen strawberry daiquiri or mango caipirinha. I promise i'm not an alcoholic but i am a student. **

**So yep, on with the chapter i think. Oh, Charlaine Harris owns the wonderful Southern Vampire Mysteries. **

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When I came to, I wasn't entirely sure that I'd woken up properly; the room was pitch black, the kind of darkness where you can't make anything out at all. My hands immediately went to my head which was beginning to throb with a severe headache from the chloroform; sadly I could recognise the sweet smell now that I was free of its clutches. It did seem ridiculously outdated to use chloroform; it hadn't been widely used in about a century and it was known to have fatal side effects.

"What the hell?" I muttered to myself as I pushed up into a sitting position, using the wall behind me for support.

_Wonder if she's awake yet_ I heard from outside the door, a mental voice that I couldn't remember having ever encountered before. I collapsed quickly back to the floor, not entirely sure if I wanted them to know I was awake. With shaking hands and a thumping heart I slouched back down as swiftly as I was able to, trying to configure my body into the position I'd been in when I woke up.

Expletives ran in a constant circle around my head as I forced my eyelids to remain closed and my breath to even out. My ears were pricked for any movement from outside the little room where I was, I assumed I was in some form of closet since my feet, my back and head were all touching different walls.

"Cover my back," I heard a gruff voice that matched the mental one call out a second before bright light fluttered into the tiny room.

I fought desperately to keep my eyes light and natural. I wanted to screw them up tightly, pretending this wasn't happening. Calming thoughts swirled through my head; lazy Saturday mornings eating my Gran's fried breakfast, watching a romantic comedy on Sunday afternoons with Amelia and lounging naked in bed with Eric wrapped around me.

"She's still out," the voice said sounding surprisingly close, so close that I struggled not to recoil.

_She's a pretty young thing, bet she could take some rough housing_

"You sure she aint to be damaged?" The accent was American and it was only that observation that made me wonder what had happened to Caleb and more importantly, what had happened to me while I'd been unconscious. Taking stock of my body I only had pain in my head from the chemicals so I assumed I'd simply been moved into the closet.

"No damage at all, better not think it either you never know if he'll be able to tell." This voice was smooth with an edge of boredom, coming from the larger room that was in front of me.

"Shame," the original human muttered just before the door shut with a definite thud followed by a couple of clicks made from some locks sliding into place.

I was proud of myself; even slightly stronger than the average human due to all the vampire blood I'd ingested over the years but I would scarcely be able to take on one man, let alone two. I'd just bought myself some time, time to assess the situation and my body in preparation for an escape or a fight. This time I remained lying on the floor, I just shuffled over onto my back, bending my knees so I didn't feel quite so cooped up.

I had to think practically; I was in a carpeted closet, presumably in a hotel suite, with just about enough room to lie down. The door was now just to my right; if I stretched my hand out a couple of inches my fingers brushed against the wood. I couldn't allow myself to panic, it would do no good and the men keeping watch over me would know I was conscious and would presumably alert Caleb.

Caleb. Back in the bar, I realised then that I didn't know how much time had passed. I'd finally discovered all the secrets he'd been keeping and the reason why he'd been giving me such creepy feelings. He was a part-demon. Somewhere in his family tree was a demon, enough to give him extra powers but not enough so that it could be easily detected. This accounted for everything; his lack of broadcasting telepathically, why he gave me the creeps because something in me recognised him as something other than human. Also it could be an explanation for his willingness to do horrible, despicable things and why the vampires kept him around.

I banished thoughts of him from my mind for a moment and eased myself up into a sitting position once more. I stretched my hands out in front of me, easing tired muscles, and searching for the door and it was thanks to that motion that I finally saw my watch with its dim glow; 11:40pm on the same night. I hadn't been unconscious for as long as I'd thought. The general meeting would still be going on, no doubt with the queen cursing my name due to my absence. She wouldn't exactly miss me, and she definitely wouldn't be worried. I could only hope that Eric would have set up some kind of search for me; he would miss me and with my nose for trouble he'd assumed something bad had happened. I guess I was only proving his point further at the minute.

My hands connected softly with the door making no sound and with palms flat I searched for the little gap between the actual door and the frame, trying to orientate myself. I came up with nothing; there was also no door handle. The only discernable gap I'd found was between the wood and the carpet, however even that was covered with thick bristles to prevent drafts and apparently light.

I caught my sigh before it had left my mouth and instead ran my frustrated hands through my hair, using the motion to cradle my aching head as well. With shaking legs I pushed up until I was standing which only caused a wave of nausea and dizziness to wash over me. I fought it back until I was in full control of my body; it was all about control. With enough control I could keep myself calm and my telepathy tuned in. I scoured the walls, going in a full circle, searching in vain for a light switch. When that was over I slumped back to the floor, resting my head against the wall.

I was stuck in a closet with a securely locked door that had no handle and no gaps that would even let a thin shaft of light in. I didn't have my bag, so no phone. _Shit. I never did call my Gran back. Oh, that's going to be a brilliant conversation._ Even my pockets had been emptied except for a single tissue and a packet of gum. The only thing I could see was the glow in the dark face of my watch. I was completely alone and no one except my kidnappers knew where I was. I was however quite confident I was still somewhere in the hotel, especially given the time frame; they hadn't really had time to move me to anywhere else. These were all valid reasons to feel panicked, claustrophobic and possibly even terrified and hopeless. A lesser woman would have been. Not me. I wasn't hopeless or panicked, I had too much control. I had a plan; the next time that door opened which I would know in advance, I would attack, making a lot of noise, alerting someone to my presence. At this point a vampire from my group would come and help, hopefully before I was killed. Of course, this all used the assumption that at least one vampire was looking for me.

I must have somehow managed to fall asleep, tucked up in the corner of the closet to keep the cold away because the next thing I knew my watch was flashing 3AM and I had no recollection of how I'd passed the three and a bit hours. I blamed it on the chloroform because I really wasn't tired and under no circumstances would I have otherwise been able to sleep. There was also muffled talking coming from the other side of the door, what was clear to me though was the mental words, of course I heard the speech from the listeners mind but it still worked.

"_She really needs to wake up," the guy with the American accent heard._

"_Why? While she's out she's no trouble."_

"_The stuff we used can be lethal, I'm getting worried." _

"_Well, wouldn't she be better off dead? You know Caleb isn't planning on handing her over, he wants her telepathy since it's one of the few things he doesn't have." _

"_Shit!" _Both my minds screamed the same sentiment at the same time, no clear thoughts other than that one word and a tidal wave of fear.I scrambled to my feet as quietly as I was able to, pleased to find that this time there was no nausea and the dizziness had disappeared which left me with only the headache. My eyes fluttered shut, it's not as though I could actually see anything anyway, as I concentrated on what was going on behind the door. Another mind entered the room, one that I couldn't read properly, one that only told me it was male and already angry. Caleb. I already knew the answer without getting it from the true humans.

"Sookie? I know you are awake and I know you can hear me." Caleb called oddly sweetly through the door, accentuating his words with fast raps on the door. How he could tell I was awake I had no idea, I did have the feeling that he wasn't bluffing though. I had a split second to decide how to react; the various options ran at a startling speed through my head.

"I can hear you." I finally settled on, keeping my back to the wall opposite the door just in case he surprised me. I might have stood a chance with the two humans but with Caleb I was essentially a helpless woman; I couldn't read his actions before he did them and he would be much stronger than me with demon blood in him, even if it wasn't much.

"Good, now I'm going to open the door, don't try anything stupid." I sucked in a deep breath, letting the oxygen flow through my body, energising me and making me focus on the only thing that really mattered; staying alive while getting out. Without ending up in a hospital would be an added bonus.

My heart thumped in my chest, until I could hear it pounding in my ears. I could almost feel adrenaline coursing through my blood stream, switching on all the things I needed for what I had planned, I didn't need much. The deep breath I had taken was let out in a whoosh only to be followed by another gulp of air. I could feel my chest heaving with the motion. Then the door began to open and I screwed my eyes up as tight as they would go, protecting them from the burst of light that would undoubtedly confuse me for a few seconds, a few precious seconds that I needed.

"Aw, now there's my beauty," Caleb said with what seemed like sincerity in his voice. I ignored his words though and I struck blindly. I tucked myself up, crouching down until I was at the perfect height for a tackle. My fingers were curled up into claws, ready to scratch at anything that I came into contact with. That was when I struck; running at him with as much speed and force as I could muster.

The collision was painful, even adrenaline didn't mask it fully. My shoulder crashed into his fleshy stomach and I heard the distinct crack of bone resounding in my ears. My right arm wrapped around his waist, pushing him back into a weak resistance, something that crunched. Assuming it was the door I kept on ploughing forward for another step when I opened my eyes, revealing the standard hotel room to me. Instantly I let Caleb go, realising I was nearing the centre of the living room area, and my fingers dug into his flesh as I retracted, causing deep gashes that had my hand covered in blood even through his shirt.

The two humans were nowhere to be seen, not that I paused to really search, and I ran away from Caleb as fast as my stumbling legs would take me. I'd only gone three steps, nearly reaching the door when I was pulled into the air, leaving my legs flailing desperately. A vice-like grip was around my waist, squeezing all of my air out of my lungs. I still fought though, my hands scratching against anything I could reach, whether it be the arms wrapped around me or reaching behind me to grapple with his face. "Argh!" I screamed, writhing with my entire body to try and break free.

"Oh no, you're not going anywhere."

My fingers tangled in his hair and I pulled hard, yanking so much that a lot strands came with me. A gasp of pain sounded in my ears and the grip around my waist relaxed ever so slightly but it was enough. I gulped down much needed air, letting the oxygen fill my starved lungs; I screamed as loud as I could even with my throat protesting painfully. Suddenly I found myself bent over, a great weight residing on my back, cutting of my yell. The arms around me turned into an arm, with the other clamping down over my mouth hard enough to crush my lips into my teeth.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing?" Hissed a menacing Caleb; his mouth so close to my ear that his lips brushed my skin.

His question must have been rhetorical since I really couldn't reply but just to voice my opinion I stomped down on his foot, putting all of my weight behind the motion. It had more than the desired affect he completely relaxed his grip, allowing me to move away freely an instant before he stumbled back, moaning loudly in pain. I wasted no time and hurtled toward the door, hands outstretched in desperation.

"Michael! Luke!" Caleb yelled from behind, closer than I'd anticipated but I didn't even pause to glance because it was right then that I threw open the door, only to find myself running straight into another bedroom.

The seconds I hesitated when I saw where I'd ended up, I'd been expecting the living room since I hadn't dared hope for the main hallway, cost me dearly. I was pushed to the ground, the impact jarring seemingly every joint in my body. It happened so fast I hadn't even been able to get my hands up into time to break my fall; my right arm lay off to the side while the left was trapped painfully underneath me. The same weight as before pinned me down, his body heaving with exertion and I knew I'd given him a fight. I'd been winded by my fall and I was gasping for oxygen that my body just couldn't cooperate enough to obtain.

"What's going..." the new voice, I recognised it from one of the mental ones I'd heard earlier and it was cut off only half way through the sentence. I couldn't see the person at all; I just knew he was standing in front of me somewhere. I could see the scene laid out before him, a dishevelled blonde girl collapsed on the floor with a heaving shaggy haired Caleb lying on top of me, almost obscuring my body from view.

"Get Michael, now!" Caleb roared in anger, and I felt the flash of fear that flickered through the human's mind before he disappeared from the room again, a door slamming shut told me when he'd fully left. "Now then bitch," he hissed directly into my ear, pulling roughly on my hair so I was forced to lift up as much as possible from the floor. "Come with me." He rolled to the right, taking his weight off me and allowing me to take a glorious gasp of breath that brought the world back into focus. I didn't have much respite until he tugged again on my hair, making me cry out in pain as I followed his hand, stumbling to my feet while cradling my left arm to my body. "You dare fight back against me?" I managed to turn around enough to see his eyes which were glistening with rage, they'd darkened almost beyond recognition yet I still wasn't as scared as I could have been. This was a heated anger; there was rationality behind it somewhere even if I wasn't the one that could understand it. I'd seen cold anger; vampires were masters of this feeling, where they could do anything with the same ferocity without a care at all for anything.

"Yes," I rasped out, infusing as much confidence as I possibly could into the one word. Disbelief filled his eyes, I watched it from only a few inches away; it may be the last thing I had done but at least I'd stood up to the bad guy. His free hand, the one that wasn't holding me up by my hair, wrapped around my throat, squeezing hard. The pain began instantly, making me cringe back away from him and my face contort in a grimace. I had precious little air left, my lungs had taken a beating over the past couple of minutes and I didn't have enough strength left in meto fight back. My muscles were screaming in defiance against not being able to move but there wasn't really anything I could do.

It was then that I felt it; calm washing over me as silence filled my head. My eyelids began to flutter uselessly as I flailed desperately at Caleb's hands, trying to get him to relax his grip even slightly so I could just breathe. I wasn't attacking him anymore; I was just trying to stop myself from getting hurt anymore than I already was. Then I heard an almighty crash from the other room; a wooden door smashing into a wall. The next instant a body flew through the now open door into the living room, landing just a few feet to my right.

"What the hell?" Caleb whispered and his lack of confidence allowed me to pry three of his fingers from my tender neck, allowing me a sip of sweet air. "They never can do any fucking thing right," he added as he turned back to me, astonishment washing over his face when he realised how much progress I'd made. His thoughts invaded my head since I couldn't keep my shields up; he didn't want to kill me, he'd settle for injured and knocked out. What he didn't understand was that he could want it more than anything else in the world but it wasn't happening, not now.

I spat in his face, using up my remaining energy to watch the horror wash over his face. It was what he deserved and it summed up my feelings for him. He never got the chance to retaliate.

Eric stormed into the room, snarling at anything that came into his scope of vision.

"Put her down," he growled out, his voice so low that it seemed to reverberate around the room. Caleb stood motionless for a second as Eric strode into the room, the tension was palpable, and I couldn't believe I was witnessing it. My vision was starting to go blurry and I was stood on tiptoes to try to alleviate the pressure, it wasn't working but I couldn't give up. "I said, put her down." These words were accompanied by a snapping of his teeth as he stalked toward us; legs slightly crouched in a stance that said he was ready to pounce at any second.

Caleb recognised the predatory look because the next second I was on the floor in heap, unable to support my own body when it was under so much stress. My hands rushed up to hold my bruised neck, finger tips trailed over the flesh gently, never once however did I take my eyes off of the circling men in front of me. The standoff didn't last long; Eric literally flew through the air with his arms outstretched. He barrelled into Caleb, knocking him to the ground easily and rolled straight over him so that he was once again standing up, looming over the part demon. He was just about to lean down to grab one of his arms, probably to rip it off, when Caleb sprang to his feet, kicking out with his right leg as he pivoted around. His speed was good, but nothing compared to a vampire's and his foot connected with nothing but air. Eric did grasp him this time, one arm on his shoulder, another digging viciously into his waist. There was no warning for what happened next and the sickening crack as he dislocated Caleb's shoulder had me cringing back. A loud wail of agony filled the air and Caleb dropped to the floor, clutching his limp arm carefully. With another swift kick to the ribs, accompanied by more crunching of bones as several ribs gave way, Eric made his way over to me.

"How are you?" He asked, his voice still the deep growl and I could see wildness in his eyes. He didn't come too close to me, staying a few feet away and keeping his hands curved into claws. It was strange to think but I was glad he hadn't just asked me if I was okay, I preferred this question. It gave me more options to respond with.

"I'll live," I whispered out, the loudest sound that my throat could manage. "Look out," I tried to rasp out but the higher octave didn't register, it came out as a mere squeak that didn't do anything at all.

Eric didn't need the warning; he was already spinning around, ducked down, before I'd even finished the first word. Caleb had got back to his feet, his arm still hanging limply and the shoulder looking distorted underneath his t-shirt. The fist that he'd drawn back with his good arm barely connected with the side of Eric's head, a glancing blow at best but it did change his course of movement. Eric reeled back, out of the trajectory and it was enough for Caleb to follow his momentum through and run out of the room with startling speed.

My vampire followed less than a second behind him, light blond hair flowing behind him with the motion, until he was gone from view. That left me alone in a room with one human who looked like he was clinging by a thread to life and another human who I had no idea about. I scurried back slightly until my back hit the wall, I needed to know that nothing was going to creep up on me. My shields dropped slightly, allowing me to scope out the hotel room we were in; the man who Eric had thrown was better than I'd anticipated, he was knocked out but it didn't seem fatal and the other man was in a crying heap on the floor of the living room. He had several broken bones and a giant lump forming on his head from where it had been smashed into the wall; he was lucky to be alive. There was no one else around; in fact the only other person I could hear was a cleaner about five rooms down who was mentally complaining about the noise. I also discovered we were on the sixteenth floor.

Just as I was starting to freak out that I'd been left to my own defences again, I was contemplating getting up and trying to get back to my own room even though I didn't have a key, perhaps the front desk would help me, the familiar blankness of a vampire brain emerged on this floor. I didn't know how I knew, I didn't want to think about it too deeply either, but I recognised it as Eric, there was just something about his mind even though it was completely closed off to me that was familiar. He made no noise, even as he stepped through the destroyed suite.

"He got away," he growled out, fangs still extended and eyes darting around the room as though he expected another attacker to leap out of a corner or from under the bed.

"You couldn't catch him?" I rasped out, clutching my eyes shut tightly against the pain.

"No," he huffed and scanned the room once more before collapsing gracefully beside me, his long legs folded up so that he was kneeling. "I saw him turning around the corner toward the stairs and elevators, by the time I got there, two elevators had just shut their doors and the door of the stairwell was shutting. I couldn't pick up his scent, only the barest traces which said he'd been around here. I followed the stairs down but had to come back up." He ran his hand through his hair, pushing it back from his face and he really looked at me for the first time; surprise flickered through his bright blue eyes.

"Why?" I asked again, breaking his conversation so that his eyes snapped back up to mine from where they'd been staring at what I assumed were already forming bruises on my neck.

"I realised I could be following an entirely wrong path, I had no way of finding out which level he took and he could have even gone up. I couldn't risk him doubling back and taking you." I leant into his chest with those words, letting my head flop onto his shoulder yet my hands remained in place, it was too painful not to cradle my aches. "Now, what hurts?" When he glanced down at me and saw the grimace on my face, everything hurt, he asked another question. "What is injured?"

"My throat and arm." I croaked out, moving my left arm into his lap so he'd know which one I meant. Carefully he picked it up, supporting all of the weight in one of his hands, his fingertips from his left hand tracing over the swelling that had already formed around my wrist. Gently he gripped my fingers and moved them while his eyes remained focused intently on my face, checking to see if there was any pain at all. When that was cleared he moved up to my wrist, starting off with the barest hint of movement until he was rotating my wrist at almost full motion. It hurt, I can't lie; it really hurt, but it also wasn't broken, just badly sprained.

"Your wrist will heal quickly. Let me see your neck." I complied and tilted my head back after pulling away from him slightly, completely supporting myself. Faint brushes of cool skin tickled my tender flesh and it was so sweeping that it didn't hurt at all, holding my head back however did. "You will be fine, your neck will just take longer to heal. Come with me," he whispered before giving my forehead the briefest of kisses, so quick that I didn't even feel the hardness of his fangs behind his lips.

He stood up quickly and I'd only just begun to push up when he swept down, picking me up bridal style in a seamless movement. Within a second I was cradled against his chest, my head resting on his shoulder with my nose pressed into his neck, my uninjured arm behind his neck and the other resting on my lap.

"What about the humans?"

"They are lucky to be alive, if you don't want them dead, don't remind me." I nodded mutely against his head and sank down into him as much as possible, enjoying the feeling of being safe for the first time in hours. I had to agree that the humans were very lucky, he'd shown amazing restraint, either that or he'd just wanted them out of the way so he could get through to Caleb and I.

We walked down the corridor silently. Surprisingly I wasn't jostled at all, and I felt secure enough to close my eyes and just let his scent wash over me.

"Sookie," a deep voice whispered in the darkness and I bolted upright though I regretted the motion immediately with the pain that rocketed through my body. "Shh," the same voice added and I felt the bed depress beside me as Eric sat down next to me, his arm sliding around my shoulders which released the tension there immediately. He didn't apologise for the shock he'd caused but he did switch on the bedside light, letting me see the room.

We were back in his hotel suite, the sheets had been changed I noticed randomly, but everything was exactly the same. I was still fully dressed, my coat had been taken off but I remained in my jeans and shirt, but the same couldn't be said for Eric; he was only wearing boxers. He must have seen my eyes grow wide as I made that realisation because a low chuckle rumbled in his chest. "It's only a couple of hours until dawn, I want to be comfy." If it was still a couple of hours until dawn I couldn't have been asleep for that long.

"News?" I asked, using one word to express my entire question because it was just too painful to speak.

"I haven't left the room," he assured me, squeezing my shoulder so that I was flush against his body. I wasn't in that position for even a second before he'd picked me up to place me between his legs, my back against his chest and his arms wrapped around my waist snugly. "The Queen knows the basics, the front desk knows to alert our group if they see Caleb. The humans have been arrested on destruction of private property that they can't pay for." I nodded in understanding. My eyelids fluttered shut again as I pulled up the duvet around my shoulders to keep me warm; it was nice snuggling with a vampire but since they were only the temperature of their surroundings it wasn't the best when I wanted to be warm.

"Now, we need to get you sorted out." His hands trailed up my arms, his fingertips raising goosebumps as he went, until he reached my shoulders. He leaned over then and picked up a first aid kit that I hadn't noticed before. It was placed in my lap, already opened and I was greeted by a plethora of treatments, I could understand what they were doing in the possession of a vampire. "Let's start with your wrist." He gently picked up a tube of cooling gel which he opened and smeared over my heated, swollen flesh with a tenderness I hadn't known he was capable of. Next he wrapped a support bandage around it carefully, immediately relieving some of the pain and the coolness of both the gel and his skin was like heaven.

"Better," I said, sticking with my less is better policy. Knowing that elevation would help the swelling go down I lifted my arm up, resting my wrist on my shoulder so that my fingers were woven in his hair.

"For your neck it's honey tea and painkillers," he accompanied his words with a steaming mug of sweet smelling tea and two white tablets. The tablets of course, were disgusting but the tea was wonderful; I couldn't help relaxing back and sighing in the comfort it brought me.

"What happened?" He asked quietly with his mouth hovering over the place where my neck met my shoulder. I took another sip before answering him; it would be best to get it all over with at once and I knew it would be agony by the end.

"In the bar, read his mind." I shuddered at the memories of being inside Caleb's mind and the evil that I'd felt there. "He's part demon, one great grandparent or possibly just a grandparent. Like me." I added quietly. Until that point I hadn't realised it; Caleb and I shared a rather unique genetic trait. We both had small amounts of supernatural blood that made us very different from normal humans.

"You have no demon in you," he replied confidently then thought deeply in silence. I didn't mind the quiet, instead I let him come to his own conclusion which occurred rather quickly. "Part fae?" I nodded; my paternal grandfather had actually been a fairy. "That explains it."

"What?"

"You are delicious." I turned around as much as I was able to see him; a small smile was tweaking the edges of his mouth. I also noticed that his fangs were fully retracted now so he'd calmed down considerably while I'd been asleep. "You are Exquisite." My eyes went wide but I still turned back around, his statements brought too many questions to think about at the minute so I put them to the back of mind and continued on with the story of what happened.

"He sensed my otherness, assumed and still does that I'm part demon." I paused to take another long sip of tea. I was quite pleased with how my voice sounded; if I thought through the grating pain I could make a sound that was pretty much my normal voice. "He thought I should be with him. His vampire group does want me and he offered his assistance but he never intended to hand me over. He was going to take me back to America and use me in his business dealings as his 'partner'." I couldn't bring myself to say anything else so I just used inverted commas with my one good hand.

"I would have found you." He told me sincerely, kissing the skin underneath where he'd been resting his chin.

"I found out what he intended to do with me and how he wanted to punish me for being with a vampire."

"He doesn't like us? I thought it was personal." I half laughed but the urge to cough became so great that I gave up quickly. Eric would think that it was personal, he had a big personality and an ego to match, and I suppose on some level it was personal between him and Caleb; Caleb despised Eric because he was the vampire I'd chosen but it ran deeper than that. Caleb hated all vampires because it was what he most wanted to become but it was something that he could never have. Demons, even part demons could never become vampires. I had no idea if the same was true for telepaths with fae blood.

"All vampires, he had a deep hatred. I tried to run but he cut me off at the elevators, he used chloroform and I woke up in a closet. I'd just made a break for it when Caleb opened the closet door when you came to my rescue."

"I should have worked faster," he chastised himself, having lifted up from my shoulder his words were hissed out and menacing.

"No, you were right on time." I turned around again to find him looking back at me, so not letting him get away with his derogation of himself, I kissed him. My lips softly moved against his for a second before he began to respond; our lips were soft, moving slowly and only slightly as we both sought comfort from the other. He pulled back slightly before placing another chaste kiss to my lips and pulling me back into his chest properly. "How did you find me?"

I went where I could smell you, but you've been a lot of places in this hotel and they carried you up to the room. I'd narrowed it down to which tower block and I was going systematically through each floor. I was only on fifteen when I heard a commotion from above. I'm guessing you were giving your all to Caleb."

"Yeah," I replied, remembering all the screaming I'd done and the loud sound that must have ensued as we crashed to the floor.

"Please tell me something," he traced kisses along my collar bone, pulling the loose collar of my shirt aside with his free hand to do so. "Tell me that you hurt him." He carefully flicked his tongue over my bone and kissed back up to my neck, before the bruising, and licked again, adding the slightest bit of pressure so I could feel that his fangs had run down slightly at the thought of violence.

"I did," I wasn't ashamed to feel a smile cross my lips as I remembered pulling his hair out, scratching him so badly that he bled. When I glanced down at my hands however I found them completely clean.

"You were covered in blood; you wouldn't want to wake up caked in dried blood."

"Thank-you," I whispered out and kissed him again. My hands, even my injured one, latched around the back of his neck so that I could pull him down closer to me. His tongue explored my lips before searching my mouth and my tongue danced with his. A small moan rumbled in my throat, barely more than a completely contented sigh, as we moved together. His hands caressed my back, easing any residual tension from my muscles. Suddenly he broke away from me, his lips still parted and showing the tips of his fangs that made me, even in this state, want them in me.

"Do you want my blood? I can heal you." I shook my head slowly, eliciting a perplexed expression from my handsome vampire.

"I have a strange need to feel human," I replied, trying my best to explain how I was feeling. "The pain reminds me I'm alive. My wrist is already much better," I wiggled it around for emphasis. "And my throat can only get better; I even sound more like me. I'll be fine in a couple of days. Thank-you." I didn't have time to lean into him this time. Instead he kissed me, cutting off any more words that I could have used in explanation. If this was how he treated me when I had been rescued it almost made it worthwhile.

His tongue caressed mine in our almost lazy kiss. His touch was comforting and exactly what I needed; he made me feel more than the pain and I felt really alive. Shivers shot down my spine with the sensations I was feeling and I couldn't help tangling my hands in his hair again, pulling him down closer to me if that was at all possible. Slowly I was rolled over, Eric's arms around me, controlling me until I was laid on my side on the mattress with the duvet still miraculously pulled up to my shoulders. My vampire was right beside me, sharing my pillow with my body pushed against the long length of his. My legs intertwined with him, needing to be as close as possible. His chest was perfectly still while my heart beat loudly in mine and my breathing was becoming ragged. We weren't going anywhere with this, I may have wanted it but given my current state it would be awkward to say the least. Kissing however, was like my own personal heaven. His lips moved softly against mine, contrasting with the hard fangs behind them that I was fascinated with. His scent was all around me, so unique that it simply screamed Eric with an undercurrent of vampire and danger, yet I felt perfectly safe in his arms.

Another moaning sigh broke from my lips as I pulled back ever so slightly to draw in breath and of course it was that precise moment that a tremendous wave of panic washed over me, sending me reeling back into the duvet and away from Eric's chest.

"What's wrong? Sookie?" Eric's worried face filled my vision, becoming even more so as he took in my wide eyes and mouth hanging open in a perfect 'o'.

"Shit, what the hell?" I whispered more to myself and the dread that had come over me, now accompanied by my own. After what I'd already been through tonight it seemed the person in power had more plans for me than kissing my vampire. Fear flooded through my mind even though I shouldn't have been able to detect anything from this high up and this close to a vampire. It was utterly complete though; the fear and the panic, there was no escaping it and just as my stomach sunk as low as it could possibly go the gunshots started ringing out, resounding around the hotel.

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**So yep, that was chapter 10. What did you think? What you think is happening? I really feel sorry for Sookie, she doesn't seem able to have one uneventful night although i think this one takes the biscuit. As i'm sure you know by now, i love feedback almost as much as i love a certain Viking vampire. I finally watched the ASkars acceptance speech at the Scream awards this year. Wow, hilarious and i have to agree Eric has definitely been a very good boy this year. Well, he definitely gave naked scenes, not enough but still :)**

**The title this week, Let's Get Outta Here, it come's from the song Let's Get Outta Here by Madina Lake. It's brilliant and funky, i advise going and listening to it. **

**If you haven't figured this out yet, i'm writing this on thursday night because i'm going for the cocktails i mentioned tomorrow. So thanks for reading and i'll see you next week. **

***hugs*  
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	11. I'll Never Let them Hurt You I Promise

**Hello my wonderful readers, **

**how are you all doing? Good I hope. I'm doing fantastically :) I had a brilliant weekends with my friends that were visiting; i went and did the tourist thing in London. Cocktails on friday were delcious, i had a Barlemint Baileys which is essentially vanilla ice cream mixed with oreos with a shot of baileys and a mint liquer. It's gorgeous. Then it was shopping in covent garden on monday and tuesday was my birthday! I had a little party, ordered take out and my friends got me a cake. Tuesday night was the best though i had a can of diet pepsi with wild cherry *imported from USA*, two packets of double stuf oreos *imported from the USA, b-day prezzie*, i was listening to the new MCR album during their fan listening party and i had a personalised card of Eric Northman pretty much naked. It's nice. Oh and i got an 80% on my first vet school exam and i have a job as a student ambassador :)  
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**I want to say a massive thank-you to my betas campyrs and trajedy99. They do an amazing job and they do it ridiculously quickly too. Thanks guys. Charlaine Harris owns the wonderful Southern Vampire Mysteries (new book in may?) On with the chapter**

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"Fuck," Eric muttered and before I could blink he'd disappeared from view leaving the cool patch next to me as my only company. Within a second he was back, a distant thud explaining that he'd been to the door to investigate the gunshots that were still resounding through the air. He sat beside me, completely tense, on the side of the bed with his hands cupping my cheeks so that I was forced to look up at him or close my eyes. "What's going on down there? I can't hear enough without getting closer and I'm not leaving." It took me a second to recognise the wide eyed, I could see white around his irises, look on his face; he was scared. Some part of him was and I couldn't tell what he was scared of, but it had obviously been something that he'd heard at the door. "Lover, come on, tell me what's going on down there."

I focused my eyes on his, letting everything else melt away. I forced my shields to remain as tight as possible, blocking out everything that I possibly could, making his cool presence keep my mind calm. The number of panicking and fearful minds down stairs had over taken me, a bad side affect of telepathy that had been developing recently; faced with lots of minds in the same state I tended to take on their general emotions. "Guardians of the Day" I whispered out, sucking in my bottom lip when I'd spoken, biting down on my flesh to generate enough pain to help me focus on anything else but the little snippets of minds that were still getting through my shields.

"You can't have a peaceful evening can you?" A small smile ghosted across his kissable lips for an instant before he went back to survival mode. He planted a gentle kiss on my lips, not giving me enough time to respond, before getting up from the bed, a motion that was soon followed by screeching metal.

"What?" I asked as I sat up straight in the bed to find him with his fist implanted into the metal shutter that covered up the window even though we were in the human room of his hotel suite. He didn't respond though, instead he coiled his hand back, hard enough that his upper arm appeared to double in size with the clenched muscles, before darting forward at a speed I couldn't follow. His hiss of pain surprised me, audible over the groaning metal that still hadn't given way more than a large dint. This time when he pulled his hand back, more cautiously than before, his knuckles were covered in crimson blood.

"We'll have to get to a stairwell, the windows there aren't reinforced." I couldn't imagine what metal it was that could withstand the full power of a thousand year old vampire but I had to commend the hotel's choice if I was in any other situation.

"But they could find us!" I told him as I finally stood up to pull on my jacket.

"We should make it." He stopped himself then and back tracked, looking surprised that he'd let those words come out of his mouth. "We will make it. We have to go across to your room first." He walked back across the room, shaking his bleeding hand slightly as he did so. His jeans were immediately pulled on and his shirt slipped carefully on when he reached them. I was amazed that he already had a plan; my mind was doing strange things. I was sweeping between panic, fear and a strange calmness that allowed me to think of no essential thoughts.

"Here," I said quietly, having noticed that his knuckles were still trickling a little blood; he must have damaged his hand quiet badly for something so apparently simple to not have healed over already. I gently grabbed his hand in both of mine and kissed each of his knuckles in turn, not bothered by the blood, just needing to give some comfort. Vampires could feel pain, they were just better at fighting through it. As soon as I'd kissed the joint of his little finger I let his hand go, licked my lips, and took his other hand so that we could head out of the door.

I didn't think at that point to ask why we were going to my room. In hindsight it would have been a really good question. Instead I just jogged beside him as we ran as fast as we dared while remaining as quiet as possible down the corridor toward my room. The gunshots were getting louder although they weren't as continuous anymore. I concentrated on placing one foot in front of the other and keeping my breath nice, even and rhythmic to keep any unwanted minds out of my head.

"They're on the second floor." He whispered to me, scared that any form of noise would give away our position. We didn't know who they had with them, some vampires had been known to join the Fellowship of the Sun when they'd had enough of life and some shifters had joined because they simply hated vampires. We picked up our pace as we entered the corridor that took us to the other side of the hotel where my room was located and before I knew what was happening I was swept up into Eric's arms before we hit the stairwell that would take us to the correct floor.

My heart thumped in my ears which were beginning to ring due to the loud bangs of the guns. Every time a shot rang out I jumped, my nerves fraying with how on edge I was every second. I didn't let myself enjoy being cradled so close to his broad chest, or being wrapped up in his muscular arms, I just tracked our progress with the numbers that indicated which floor we were on. I wasn't as scared as I had been earlier in the closet, I was with my vampire, while I was still with him I had a lot more confidence in my safety.

"Can you run now?" He asked, whispering directly into my ear. I nodded and before the motion was even finished my feet were on the floor and my good hand was once again grasped in his larger one as he half pulled me down the corridor to my room.

It wasn't until we reached my room door that I realised I didn't have my key; it had been tucked safely away inside my wallet which had, of course, been in my purse that I hadn't seen since I'd been kidnapped.

"No key," I told Eric after patting my pockets in a gesture I knew was pointless even while doing it. He let my hand go, which made me automatically take several steps back. As soon as I was deemed a safe distance away he threw himself, shoulder first, into the wooden door which had more than the desired effect. Not only did the lock snap, the wood around it splintered beyond repair and an Eric sized dint ran the length of the door as well. The problem however was the crashing sound it had created although I could tell he hadn't used anywhere near his full strength which would have created a thundering crack.

"Quickly someone likely heard that. Make sure you have your passport and anything else you can fit into a small bag. He walked ahead of me into my bedroom. By the time I had gotten there myself, after I'd grabbed my passport from the safe, he'd already opened all of my drawers and had found the backpack that I'd brought with me.

"What are we doing?" I asked, the words grated on my throat, it seemed to be getting more painful if that was possible. I sifted through the items he'd thrown onto the bed and put several of the items into the bag.

"We're getting out of here," he replied, not bothering to look up from the drawer he was searching through.

"How out of here are you talking?" I changed shirt then since I'd been wearing it for close to twenty four hours and I still didn't exactly know what I was going to be doing.

"Out of the country. Tomorrow evening we're getting a plane back to the States." Another gunshot rang out, louder than before, that instinctively made me duck.

"Shit," I whispered out, hissing as I put weight onto my injured wrist when I stood up straight, pushing down on the mattress for leverage.

"Fourth floor, come on." He threw something at me, more specifically into the bag I was holding. I didn't waste any time marvelling at his aim, in fact all I did notice was that it was black and red along with being something that I didn't recognise. With tension building within me from how close the shooters were getting I closed the bag, pulled on my coat and strode toward the door even though Eric was still doing something in my room.

"Eric?" I called out, the door to the corridor already open, mainly because it had snapped off its hinges when we'd walked in. I stepped outside, still glancing behind me for his hulking figure that I couldn't see.

"Sookie! No!" It was too late for whatever he was warning me about; I'd already stepped across the threshold of the room and into the corridor. I glanced around to see what could possibly be happening and several things happened all at once.

Hatred filled my head, from another mind; I could see how much he hated vampires and everyone who associated with them. He thought they should all be killed and that being shot was far too quick a death. It was at that point I met his dull brown eyes that seemed to be on fire. He stared right at me and brought the gun up straight, finger already on the trigger. I didn't have enough time to do anything that would help, not to step back or even recoil, all I did was shut my eyes. The next thing there was an ear piercing bang that reverberated around the little corridor. This close it was impossible for him not to hit me but no pain came, there was no change to anything except a pressure wrapped around my chest.

A grunting grasp, a sound I really hadn't expected, made my eyes flutter open and I came face to face with Eric's agonised blue eyes. He was staring back at me intently. I could feel his chest heaving; he was pressed so close against me. His body was completely covering mine, his arms wrapped around me and his shoulders stooped to give me even more protection. Another shot rang out and once again I didn't feel anything. Eric rocked back before instantly curling up slightly a snarl hissing from his lips the whole time.

Eric gave himself another half of a second to recover as much as he could before he spun around while taking a step back from me at the same time. He whirled on the gunman, his hand outstretched, and knocked the gun from the human's hand easily. My vampire followed through with his other hand, snapping the assailant's wrist with a sickening crunch that I had heard far too often tonight. The sound was instantly followed by a howl of pain that was quickly turned into an agonised scream as Eric kicked his knee, breaking that too.

By this point I'd actually taken a couple of breaths and I could move again and I darted forward towards Eric who was about to snap the shooters neck. One hand locked underneath his jaw while the other steadied his shoulders and he pulled, harsh and fast so that the man never knew what was coming.

"Eric," I screamed out as I reached him, my hands roaming over his back where I could see blood oozing from the wounds. They were quite low on his right shoulder, only a couple of inches apart. With nausea rising quickly in my stomach I realised that if he hadn't been fast enough to protect me the bullets would have penetrated my heart; I'd be utterly dead if he hadn't taken the bullets for me.

"We need to go," he wheezed out and he finally turned to look at me. There was a trickle of blood at the corner of his mouth which he licked away as soon as he saw my eyes resting on it. "I'm fine" he said steadily; his eyes locked with mine to show me that he wasn't just putting on a brave face, which of course he was because he must have been in terrible pain. He really was going to be okay. "Someone will come looking for him." I was still standing at his side, my eyes wandering over the little bullet wounds which were no longer bleeding but still open.

"Why aren't they closing?" I asked quietly and I finally snapped my eyes back away from the bullet holes, making myself focus on getting out of the hotel as soon as I knew the answer.

"Silver bullets, takes longer. The bullets need to be expelled as well." He shook his head slightly then, telling me that now was not the time for questions.

"Okay," I whispered back, trying desperately to take it all in. I'd seen vampires shot before but only ever by normal bullets and they'd pretty much healed instantly, I'd never been present to see the bullets expelled from their flesh.

He leaned down then and graced my lips with a grazing kiss before picking me up bridal style once more. My arms wound around his neck, my back pack was resting on my lap, and his strong arms kept me cradled snugly into his chest. We moved swiftly down the corridor back toward the stairs, once more I was surprised by how little I was jostled by his movement, especially since he was jogging. We soon made it to the stairwell which was lit with bright fluorescents, worrying about the feet which were thundering upwards from an unknown distance.

"Three floors away." Eric whispered before placing me gently on the ground. As soon as I'd got my balance he threw his fist into the dark tinted glass, shattering it easily even with the metal framework running through. With his arm through the glass up to mid forearm he flattened his hand and pulled back sharply, pulling the window which had remained in the frame with him, sending glass shards scattering across the floor. The footsteps picked up their pace at the noise and I could feel my heart thudding in my chest. I was swooped up into my vampires arms and before I could even think about asking what we were going to be doing next we were flying through the air.

The wind whipped my face, sending loose tendrils of hair flying around and the main thought running through my head was that it was ridiculously cold. I was shivering less than a few seconds after we'd left the building, huddling down into my jacket and against Eric's chest. My eyes were squinting to keep them from watering too much with the wind, but I could still see where we were going. I let my breath out slowly, amazed at the feat that Eric was performing; we weren't just hovering, or descending in a controlled method, we were physically flying through the air, above the streets of London.

I could still see the towers of the hotel over his shoulder but we'd travelled a long way in only a couple of seconds. We'd jumped out of an eighth floor window and now we were about three storeys above the ground, travelling swiftly along just above the rooftops of the buildings surrounding us.

"Where are we going?" I asked quietly, putting my lips as close to his ear as I could so that I could guarantee he could hear me.

"You'll find out when we get there." He replied, a determined look on his face when he glanced down at me.

I was finally beginning to relax; we'd left the hotel behind and even if some of the Guardians had made it to my floor in time, we'd been long gone before they'd have found us. They wouldn't be able to track us so we were safe. The only problem we faced now was finding a safe place for Eric to spend the day before making it to an airport in the evening.

I remained silent for the rest of the flight through the city which was the quietest I'd seen it; most of the lights were actually switched off in the buildings and it was too early for people to be awake. The horizon was beginning to lighten, turning from black to dark blue and I realised what I'd been missing while staying here; stars. The stars weren't to be seen. I was used to glancing up at the night sky and seeing a plethora of sparkling lights looking back down at me; whenever I felt alone at night all I had to do was look up at the sky and feel surrounded by love, with my departed family members up there. I never understood why people felt alone when gazing at the sky. I never felt insignificant as many claimed, I felt part of something bigger, something more important.

"We are here." Eric's words startled me, I'd been so intent on the night sky and when I snapped my eyes forward I found an imposing building looming up ahead.

It was a pale brick building, white around the edges with four towers, one rising up at each corner. Three sets of windows indicated three storeys with impossibly high ceilings and a deep foundation with rooms underground was hinted at by the size of what I guessed was a moat running around the edge. For some inexplicable reason we'd come to the Tower of London.

"What are we doing here?" I asked, my arms still wrapped around his neck and I was now so cuddled up that my head was resting in the little crook where his shoulder met his neck.

"We're going inside," he replied quietly, his voice barely more than a breath in the night air. "We're going underneath." My eyes bulged out at that statement, I couldn't help it. The stories about this place were not pleasant; torture, prison, execution and murders to name just a few. Before I knew it Eric was walking along the ground, his footsteps not making any sound at all. From up above, sounds from the famous ravens could be heard, stirring in the early morning and I glanced up to see them but against the dark back drop I didn't stand a chance. "Here, can you walk?" I nodded my head yet I kept a firm grasp on his arm as soon as he began to lower me to the ground.

In front of us was a small antique wood door, the kind that had wrought iron castings to strengthen it and a circular handle. It was barely taller than me and only just wide enough to allow a normal sized person entry; it was through this door that Eric expected me to go first. He pulled it open, the slight screeching sounding much louder in the stillness the tower slept in. Darkness and shadow were the only occupants of whatever lay before me; I couldn't see anything to tell me what room I was walking into or whether it was even a room at all.

"Lover go on, it's perfectly safe." With his hand encouraging me forward at the small of my back I edged forward, hand held out in front of me as I went. Eric remained no more than a foot away from me, following me intently until we were both huddled into the small space; I'd stopped walking when I'd first realised there was a flight of stairs leading down just in front. I was just about to ask what we were doing when there was a delicate thud followed by a bright luminance that lit up the entire room.

An electric light bulb hung down from the ceiling, no shade, and it was partnered with several others that lit the stairway periodically. It went downward as far as I could see. The room we were in was only as big as a jail cell; it had no windows even though a draft blew through as though there were several. When I turned around Eric standing next to the modern, white plastic, light switch, his hand still on the device.

"You couldn't have done that before?" I asked, putting as much heat into my voice that my throat would allow.

"The door needed to be shut before I could put the light on. Most people that work here believe it to be a door that no longer leads anywhere. Go down the stairs." I sighed yet remained obedient and turned around to head down the stairs that led deep below the main building.

The lights extended all the way down which was even further underground than I'd anticipated because the stairs just led straight down, no corners, spirals or landings. It was rather difficult to judge exactly how far we'd gone; I lost count at about a hundred and the second time I started up I got to over two hundred. When we finally reached the end which opened up into a rather cavernous room compared to what I'd endured since entering the tower, my legs ached as much as my wrist. It was at this point that Eric took the lead, taking my uninjured hand in his; the one that had been cut on the metal plate covering the hotel window although it had healed completely now. We walked in silence to the other side where another door was partly hidden into the wall. Once inside I found it to be a rather cosy little room with a rudimentary sink, toilet and what I imagined passed for a bed; a heap of folded blankets with a sleeping bag thrown on top for good measure.

"We'll be spending the day here, as soon as the sun nears the horizon we'll go up and head for the airport." He flicked a switch and the massive room behind us, including the stairway, was thrown into darkness once more while leaving our little room bathed in warm light.

"What is this?" I asked; amazed by the fact that something like this could be hidden away under such an historic building without anyone knowing.

"It was built when the tower was by vampires living in the city at that time. It's a safe place to stay if you ever need it. During the world wars we used it as a bomb shelter. There's hardly any use for it anymore but it's still kept stocked just in case, by a few traditionalists." Once he was finished speaking he went over to a crate in the corner, taking the top off and grabbing a bottle of synthetic blood. "It's not exactly comfortable for humans but it's just for a few hours." He shrugged his shoulders and a slight grimace ghosted across his face.

"How are the wounds?" My hands grazed over his knuckles, the hand that was holding the bottle, to find that nothing at all marred the alabaster skin. I worked my way around to his back, fingertips never leaving his body until I got to the little holes in his black shirt that showed flaking dried blood underneath.

"I'm fine. No bullets left. Get comfortable." I didn't move away from his back though, my fingers were gently rubbing away the caked up blood so that I could see the healed skin underneath. At least the skin had healed, the way he was moving suggested that it wasn't quite the same inside. With a flickering grin he moved away from me to walk to the make shift cot which he spread out across the floor, laying the sleeping bag down on the floor next to him. He didn't say anything else instead he patted the bedding next to him, inviting me to sit down with him.

I sat down, letting my head collapse onto his chest since his arm had immediately gone around my shoulders, keeping me snugly pressed into his side. His scent washed over me, the deep masculine smell mixed with vampire and a hint of washing powder that was uniquely Eric. Only now there was a subtle hint of blood thrown into the mix, it didn't bother me though; it was a scent you got used to when dealing with vampires. I was eternally grateful to the man that cradled me close that it wasn't my blood for once.

"Thank-you," I whispered, putting as much sincerity as I could into the words, squeezing him tight for extra emphasis.

"I know." He placed a tender kiss on my hair, just above my forehead. "You really do have a nose for trouble lover, there's never a dull moment around you." There was a soft rumbling in his chest, the start of a chuckle that never progressed.

"I love the quiet though, I never got beaten up until I met and got involved with vampires."

"Don't worry about that, you're safe now, I won't let you get hurt." For the first time I believed those words, even though I'd heard them many times before. Sitting in a small room buried deep beneath London, fleeing from the Guardians of the Day and after being kidnapped I felt completely and utterly safe.

When I awoke sometime later my head was resting in Eric's lap, my hands were clutching one of his thighs tightly as though I'd never let go. There was absolutely no movement in the room and the only sound was from my still deep, rhythmic breathing. I couldn't see his face from my position but I had a feeling he was in his day time slumber. One of his hands rested on my shoulder, a lock of my hair wrapped around his fingers and a blanket pulled up around me to keep me warm since my snuggle-buddy lacked body heat. I really didn't mind. Sighing, I shuffled slightly to ease some of the ache in my bones and then I settled down, closing my eyes to give over to sleep once more.

Waking up the second time I found myself laid on my other side, nose pressed into the black material of Eric's shirt and arms wrapped around his waist. It seemed that I really didn't want to let him go in my sleep. He was, of course, still in exactly the same position as before including my hair woven around his fingers. I had no idea how much time had passed, I just knew that I felt quite rested so several hours at least. I wriggled out of Eric's arms, rolling onto the floor before scrambling upright. It was while he was dead to the world that I took care of human necessities.

"_This_ is what you packed?" I shrieked out, holding up the black and red lingerie that I'd just pulled out of my rucksack. I was in the middle of getting changed; I'd already stripped down to my underwear in preparation for clean garments. I glanced up at him surprised to see his intelligent eyes were open, his gaze trailing lazily up and down my body. "Why?" I asked this time, knowing I had his attention even if he wasn't necessarily processing what I was saying. He didn't reply, verbally at least, instead he just wiggled his eyebrows while a suggestive smirk crossed his lips. "Men." I whispered to myself, a statement that would have had more impact if I wasn't secretly grateful they'd been packed and if my stomach hadn't grumbled loudly, ruining my seriousness. Before I could move or even ask about whether this place stocked human food Eric was up and across the room, searching through the crate. Amazingly he came up with a bottle of water and several cereal bars.

"How are you feeling?" His voice was deep, thick with sleep and a little bit of lust too; his fangs were elongated and he'd barely broken his gaze from me. He handed the items over to me but he didn't step back, his fingertips grazing up my arm until he reached my neck, moving my hair away so he could take in my scent.

"Better." I replied honestly; my wrist barely twinged with movement, my bodily bruising wasn't as extensive as I'd anticipated, even my throat, which was still highly painful, allowed me to speak in a normal tone.

"Are you going to get changed?" He asked, lips brushing against my skin and setting me on fire while a small shiver ran down my spine.

"Turn around," I smiled, feeling deliciously evil even as I spoke the words. His response was to kiss my neck hard enough for me to feel the sharp pricks of his fangs but pull away as soon as I started to lean into him. He was obedient however, turning around fully so that his back was to me and even took a small step back so that he wasn't pressed up against me. I placed the food and water on the ground so that I could quickly change. As soon as I was done I picked them up and plopped myself back down on the make shift bed. "Done." He growled slightly as he turned to face me, a promise evident in his eyes but he didn't say anything, instead he grabbed another bottle of synthetic blood and joined me.

"So what happens now?" I asked since I desperately needed to know what was happening in general with the world above us; the vampires' reactions would be interesting and most likely bloody in retaliation for the injuries to their kind I could only imagine.

"The summit meeting will be over, they might reschedule although probably not. The most important meetings, or the majority of them, were completed. We get out of the country and away from the Guardians, back to normal life." He paused for a moment; I could almost see the deep concentration on his otherwise stony face. For a vampire he was actually pretty expressive normally. "Do you even have a normal life?"

"Not really," was my honest reply. The parts of my life not governed by supernatural influences were getting few and far between; I worked for a vampire Queen, my best friend was a witch, my boss was a shapeshifter and my ex boyfriend, possibly new boyfriend too, were vampires. "I have good times and bad." I prayed that he wouldn't ask me which category this past week would fall into because I really didn't know; kidnapped and beaten were obviously bad but I'd also met Eric, experiencing some amazing nights. "What about the Queen?" I'd never even spared her a thought during the whole ordeal of the shoot out, I wasn't entirely sure how I should feel about that.

"She's safe."

"How do you know?" I spun around slightly to see his face.

"That's what I was doing earlier in your room when you started leaving. She got out like all of our area. I don't know the damage to the rest." He shrugged his shoulders, ending our discussion on that particular topic so I dove straight into another question that I really needed to know the answer to. We were leaving England much quicker than I'd anticipated and if these were my last few hours with my vampire I had to treasure the remaining minutes.

"What happens when we get back to America?" My voice was slightly weaker than I would have liked but I kept my eye contact.

"We'll get the next flight out of the country to somewhere on the East coast or directly to Shreveport or close by. We'll get a connecting flight if we need to and Pam will meet us at the local airport, she will be able to take you home. Don't worry about that."

"No, that's not really what I meant."

"I will be paying your travel costs. Consider it a business expense. If it makes you feel better I will make sure the Queen reimburses me." He took another deep swig of his blood and I knew he wasn't purposefully ignoring my question, he honestly thought that was what I wanted to know. I really wasn't worried about the money; for the first time in my life I wasn't too conscious about money, as much as I hated working for the vampires, it did pay well.

"No. What happens to, um, us when we get back?" He quirked his eyebrows at my stuttering and I powered through. "Does anything change when we get back to the States? Do we go back to not knowing each other?"

"No." He replied easily, staring straight back at me and I panicked slightly, not knowing which question he was answering. "Whether you like it or not I will be around. You are too much fun and you genuinely interest me; that's saying a lot for a breather." He didn't just leave it there though, quick as a blink he was a hair's breadth away from me, his lips hovering over mine and his hands looped behind my neck.

He didn't leave me hanging long but it was enough time for my breath to hitch, becoming ragged and my heart to quirk in my chest. My lips were already parted from anticipation when he leaned in that extra little bit to kiss me. He moved expertly with me and I was kissing him back instantly, exploring his mouth with my tongue and teasing myself by running the tip of my tongue over his fangs which had elongated again. His hands worked down from my neck, massaging all the way, until he reached my waist. I was in the air the next instant, being moved to sit in his lap where I could press my torso against his and feel all of his glorious muscles underneath me.

"We need to go." He whispered, pulling away far too soon for my liking and if the erection pressing into my crotch was any indication, too soon for him also.

"Where to?" I asked quietly, breath coming out in pants.

"Heathrow."

Getting to the airport was far less problematic than I'd anticipated; I was carried up the stairs since I never would have made it up in one go without help since we were further underground than I'd estimated yesterday and when we reached the surface we simply took a taxi. It turned out there was a small stash of clothes down there too; Eric managed to find a plain black t-shirt instead of the shirt with the bullet holes. It was ill fitting, too tight across the shoulders and baggy around the waist but it was far less conspicuous than the blood stained one. He also managed to find a jacket as well; it really wasn't his style being a simple cotton mac in grey but it made him blend in better since it was so cold outside. I also discovered at the hotel that if you paid enough money, you could pretty much get onto any flight you wanted, of course it definitely helped when you were with a thousand year old vampire that could enthral the staff into doing what the hell he wanted.

Most surprisingly though was the fact that we were taking a standard plane across the pond and that Eric would be joining me in the passenger section. He simply couldn't get a vampire friendly airline to take him since there weren't any flying to the States within the next twenty four hours and going in the cargo hold of a standard plane without a specialised coffin was asking for trouble. He assured me that it would be fine, night had well and truly fallen by the time we boarded, in first class, and even though we were travelling back through time zones we'd never hit sunlight. Even if we did for a little while he'd be able to hide out in the little restroom without much problem. So having a relaxing vampire beside me became one of the reasons that I had the best plane journey ever. That and the question he whispered into my ear as soon as the 'fasten safety belts' sign had been switched off. "Want to join the mile high club?"

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**So what did you think? Please don't kill me for leaving it there. You know i love feedback almost as much as i love a certain viking vampire :)**

**The title this week I'll Never Let them Hurt You, I Promise comes from the My Chemical Romance song Vampires Will Never Hurt You. I've been waiting ages to be able to use that line as a story title.  
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**i'll be trying to update on thursday next week as a little thanksgiving gift to you guys and i have xmas presents (yes plural) lined up too. I just have to get through an exam in december first. **

**Thanks for reading and have a great week. **

***hugs***

**p.s. got to say anothe massive thankyou, i hit 18 reviews average per chapter this week, seriously the best one of my stories has ever been recieved. I'm ridiculously happy about it :)**

**p.p.s i'm enterin a ff writing contest which is pretty cool, i've never entered one on here before although I have done over at wdc where i post my original pieces of writing. If you ever want to check any out just drop me a line/review and i'll be happy to give you the link  
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	12. I Can't Make You Stay

**Hey guys, **

**so first of all Happy Thanksgiving! What are you all grateful for? I'm grateful for my wonderful friends both old and new, my family who i love and for my pretty good health this year. I just got back from my thanksgiving festivities in the main campus, it was very good. **

**So what's happened since last week? Not much. It's started snowing in places of England. I've started writing a couple of new one shots, one of which i could turn into a full length piece if so desired by you guys. There was a picture of ASkars/Eric in the tv section of the newspaper this morning, we're still on True Blood season 2 on normal television channels here. I skyped back home and the first thing i saw was a pic of Eric looking back at me, the one in the grey suit at fangtasia where he's looking all suave. Pretty good times. I also have a Fangtasia t-shirt on order, i was buying a gift for someone from the hbo store and couldn't resist. **

**Charlaine Harris owns the wonderful Southern Vampire Mysteries and the movie mentioned in here definitely doesn't belong to me, although it is a favourite of mine. **

**A massive, massive thank-you to my betas this week. I only gave them the second half of this chapter yesterday and they both got back to me with it in plenty of time for posting. So big round of applause to campyrs and Trajedy99, really couldn't do this without them. **

**On with the chapter. **

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Smiling like a complete idiot I grabbed his hand; the only confirmation he needed was to grab my had and lead me down the aisle to the bathroom. I couldn't believe I was agreeing but how could I not?

"What if someone sees us?" I asked quietly, although it wasn't really stopping me, since we were already walking down the aisle toward the toilets situated at the back of first class next to the little partition curtains. My gaze shifted cautiously over the random faces of the other passengers catching the red eye to Dallas, to be fair no one seemed to be paying us any attention with most people already trying to get some sleep.

"They won't and if they do, it does not matter. Relax lover." He spoke without bothering to lower his voice and I scanned the people again but no one seemed to have heard. The way he spoke the last two words was like a caress, tender and gentle yet still eliciting a guttural reaction of pure desire deep inside of me.

Astoundingly there was no queue for the restrooms although one of them was already occupied. I went in first, never letting Eric's hand drop; I didn't even have a chance to turn around fully before he'd closed the door, locking us into the largest airplane bathroom I'd ever seen, let alone been inside.

Almost instantly his hands were on me, roaming underneath my shirt and simultaneously picking me up to place me on the little counter that held the miniature sink. I wrapped my legs around his hips, pulling him in close to me, close enough that I could feel his gracious plenty ready and pressed up against me. Our lips never ceased moving, we were rough, both of us desperately needing to feel alive and each other after the recent events. My tongue scratched along his fangs purposefully, drawing just enough blood to make him groan into my mouth and thrust his hips forward, creating wonderful friction. My hands worked down, dragging my nails lightly down his skin until the waist band of his jeans stopped my progress. Nimble fingers made light work of the button and zipper, unfastening both so that I could push his jeans and boxers down over his hips; my trousers were the only thing between us.

"Eric," I moaned into his mouth, luckily he managed to cut me off before I got too loud. My word worked; he began pulling my jeans down, taking the lace panties with them until they were just a heap on the floor. As soon as I was free, my legs wrapped around him again; I couldn't stand another second with us not connected anymore.

"Look at me lover." He pulled back enough, breaking our kiss, for me to stare into his lust darkened eyes. Making eye contact was all it took for him to thrust powerfully, entering me fully in one motion without any preparation. It was exactly what I needed in that moment.

A strangled cry erupted from my mouth. It was cut off halfway through by his lips on mine and I threaded my hands into his hair so that he couldn't pull back again. He kept moving and I quickly felt wonderful things beginning to build deep within me but it wasn't quite enough. I wanted his fangs in me. I yanked his head to the side and turned my head too so that his mouth was grazing my neck.

He wasted no time in placing open mouthed kisses along the length of my neck until he found the vein he wanted, using his tongue to lick and fangs to tease. "You have to be quiet." He mumbled against my skin and it was probably pure luck that I actually understood him. I nodded, not caring that he couldn't see the motion; I couldn't articulate a verbal response that made any sense.

He sucked a patch of skin into his mouth for a second, letting me feel his fangs digging in hard enough to walk the delicate line between real pain and pleasure. I didn't get anymore warning than that. He struck down hard, fangs instantly breaking through my delicate skin in an eruption of ecstasy that almost pushed me over the edge into oblivion. My blood flowed freely from my neck and into his mouth, yet still he drank deeply, sucking out my delicious blood. I couldn't stop myself from making noise; I had to let something out because my body just couldn't contain everything that was happening. I bit my lip to stop myself from screaming loudly, knowing that that was the exact thing I wanted to do beyond all else.

It was at that precise second that I was thrown over the edge into orgasm, a combination of his thrusts hitting parts of me that evoked carnal responses and his fangs in my neck. A cry, too loud for our location, but I couldn't bring myself to care at all, rumbled up my throat, only softened because Eric quickly pulled himself away from my neck to cover my mouth with his in a deep kiss. I was in pure bliss and I brought Eric with me not a second later.

"Are the cabin crew looking at us strangely?" I asked quietly. We'd returned to our seats a couple of hours ago and we were pretty much the only people still awake in first class. Whenever one of the attendants walked past I thought they were giving us weird glances, more specifically me and then their eyes were roaming greedily over Eric.

"Don't worry about it. If you really want to know use your telepathy." He whispered into my ear, being conscientious of the sleeping passengers around us yet still giving me a surprise when he grabbed my earlobe between his lips, tugging slightly.

"Stop it," I breathed, trying not to alert anyone while still getting my sincerity across. Of course it didn't work, I only succeeded in eliciting a silent chuckle because I really didn't want him to stop; he did wonderful things to my body and apparently he felt the same about me if I could only trust his fangs. In an effort to concentrate on something else apart from the fire that was beginning to burn inside me I lowered my shields slightly, enough to listen in to the stewardess that was currently walking up and down the aisle.

_I wonder how the hell she got him. If he can make her make those noises in that short amount of time I need to get me a guy like that. Heck. I need to get me that guy. I've never heard anything like that before._ From that point her thoughts took on an explicit nature going over all the couples she'd discovered or overheard in the restrooms. Apparently we seemed to have the most fun and she was definitely jealous. With red tinged cheeks I clamped down on my shields; hearing those thoughts wouldn't help me relax at all.

"Well?" How Eric knew that I'd been listening into someone's mind I didn't know.

"Nothing." I replied quickly, probably too quickly since a smirk crossed his lips. It amazed me that no one around us had recognised him as a vampire, he wasn't exactly trying to hide the fact although on the other hand he also wasn't flaunting his true nature. To me though he screamed vampire, it was like a vibe that he gave off. He was ridiculously tall with a look that didn't quite fit in during these years; his hair was even longer than the fashion, he was paler than any normal human and his eyes had a strange quality about them that I could only describe as supernatural. You would never classify him as a dumb blond, you could see his intelligence shining out of his eyes and it was the only part of him that showed his real age and the centuries that he'd seen. Of course all vampires had a slight glow about them to me so I could spot a vampire in a crowd without having to use my telepathy at all.

"Shit!" I blurted out suddenly, flushing all over again when I realised the volume with which I'd spoken. My gaze was instantly met by Eric's very amused face, his question written clearly across his face. "I never called my Gran back! She's not going to be happy." I sat forward, resting my head in my hands with elbows placed on my knees.

"She'll understand."

"I'm not telling her what happened. I couldn't do that to her."

"Why not?"

"She's old and she worries enough as it is, I can't tell her I was kidnapped by a part demon and almost shot by crazed men on the same night."

"She has a right to know, she's your grandmother; she cares about you." He placed a hand on my back, drawing lazy circles with his fingertips and I could feel his coolness through my shirt. "I'll tell her what I told you." He paused, fingers still moving and it was enough to get my attention, making me peep between my fingers in a rather immature gesture. "I won't let anyone hurt you." I smiled weakly at him but I still believed him and oddly enough I thought my Gran would believe him too. Whether she or I would trust _him_ not to hurt me, emotionally, was a completely different matter. Nevertheless I found myself relaxing and I leaned back into him to rest my head against his chest with his arm around my shoulders. I didn't really move for the rest of the plane journey, I just listened to the silence that filled his chest. It was strange but I had to wonder if he missed feeling his heart beat in his chest. He loved life and the feel of a heart was so pivotal to life. I had a feeling he was listening to mine beat while we sat there.

"Sookie, we've landed." His deep voice was echoing around my head and I had no desire to move what so ever; I was comfortable and safe wrapped up in his arms. During the course of the flight I'd changed position so that my legs were over his lap but I was still curled up so that my head rested on his shoulder with his arm around my waist. I hadn't slept at all during the flight, sleeping throughout the day had a tendency to make you not tired, so I'd just been resting and deep in my thoughts. Mainly I'd been wondering about what would really happen to us when got back and whether I could trust his promises. "Come on lover." I loved it when he called me that, it sent tingles down my spine in a way that no other person ever had; it made me feel special.

Begrudgingly I sat up properly, gathered my things and joined him as he stood up so that we could get off the plane. Being in first class we were actually let off of the plane first, something I'd never experienced; it was much less stressful not having to wait in the queues and the shoving that inevitably lasted the length of the plane. I followed his tall frame down the plane with my rucksack thrown over my shoulder. As soon as we reached the door we were hit with the warm air of Dallas, still retaining heat from the day even though the sun had set several hours ago. We didn't have to go via baggage claim because we just didn't have any bags and passport control was a breeze with a vampire in tow.

I managed to find Pam in the arrivals lobby without any trouble at all despite not having seen her for several months, well it wasn't like she could have changed. She was holding a cardboard sign, the kind that taxi drivers usually hold with a surname of the expected party on it. Only Pam's sign had 'Master' written across it in an elegant flowing script of bright crimson ink. I couldn't help but laugh; she had the best sense of humour out of any vampire I'd ever met, including Eric. It wasn't just the sign that got to me; she was holding the sign in one hand, two fingers at the front giving us the flying V. Her other hand was resting on her hip and the expression on her face was perfectly innocent. Unlike the other times I'd seen her, purely on business; she was wearing a pale salmon sweater of what I judged to be cashmere and cream trousers teamed with sandals.

Beside me I felt Eric chuckle, his chest vibrating with the motion. His right arm was draped lazily over my shoulders and he'd taken my back pack, giving us the perfect impression of a chivalrous man with his girlfriend. "Pam," he greeted. Although his tone didn't give anything away I could tell he was genuinely pleased to see her; he gave her a deep nod, something that wasn't usually given to subordinates.

"Eric," she returned, giving him a deeper nod yet never shifting her almost pouting expression of utter boredom. If they'd been human they would have given each other massive bear hugs, with many friendly pats and possibly even kissed each other's cheeks. However since they were both undead it never progressed to that stage although Pam did take down her sign. "Oh Sookie, what a pleasant surprise. Still have a knack for getting into trouble then. This will be fun." She sounded sincere. I remembered the last time I'd seen her, she'd been over in Bon Temps to talk business with Sam, my day job boss. That happened to be the night a coven of travelling vampires had stopped by Merlotte's. By the time they left I needed, yet refused, paramedic treatment and the main dining area had been trashed.

Pam lead us out of the airport and straight into the short stay parking lot where she'd remarkably managed to park a gleaming black Audi saloon in the first and closest parking space not designated for disabled people. Surprising me even further she sat behind the wheel and Eric gracefully climbed into the back seat even though it wasn't a week since he'd complained to me about not being able to drive. I clambered in next to him, allowing my body to sink into the supple leather seats.

"How is Fangtasia?" Eric asked from his spot lounging against the window with his arms tucked behind his head and legs outstretched as much as possible. He'd passed the journey to the highway in silence.

"Exactly how you left it except I now have an office."

"Where?" was his simple reply; he hadn't moved an inch, he didn't seem surprised by this little fact where as I was already beginning to feel out of the loop.

"Second storeroom on the ground level."

"Okay." I had a feeling I was missing something and when I caught Pam's eye glinting, smirking glance in the rear view mirror I knew they were sharing something at my expense. After that they began to talk bar business which quickly became complete jargon despite me having worked at Merlotte's for more years than I cared to remember. Some days I felt really old.

Even though I hadn't felt sleepy on the plane I must have fallen asleep shortly after getting onto the highway because the next thing I knew there were gentle, opened mouthed kisses being planted across my neck and face. I kept my eyes closed just to prolong the experience; he knew I was awake; he'd be able to tell when my breathing changed and the slightest change in my heart rate. He complied though and the way his kisses got harder by his fangs beneath his lips he liked continuing too.

"Oh please, you two will make me puke." And just like that my moment was ruined by Pam's voice. My eyes snapped open to find that she was twisted around in the front seat, a small smile on her lips. She was mainly obscured by the gorgeous vampire leaning over me, his long blond hair creating a sort of curtain around us. My head was resting on the back seat where Eric had been sitting with his jacket draped over my torso to keep me warm. He was kneeling on the floor in front of me, the front seat pushed as far forward as possible to accommodate his tall frame.

"Pam," Eric warned without looking up; I stared straight up now so that his ocean blue eyes were all that I could see. The car was no longer moving but I couldn't be bothered to lift my head to look out of the window. I didn't need to, for some reason I knew that we were back in Bon Temps, I could just hope we weren't idling in my drive way; my Gran would have a field day with questioning me if she saw any of this. "We're back at your house lover." I groaned, letting my eyes flicker closed for another second before I made motions to sit up.

"I'm not waiting." Pam drawled a second later. I really liked her; she went against most things that I recognised as vampiric traits and it was just plain amusing to see a young vampire go up against someone as powerful as Eric.

"I was planning on making my own way back. See that the bar is closed up correctly and that all the papers are ready for the order being placed tomorrow." They didn't bother saying goodbye, Pam just turned around to stare straight ahead while she waited. Eric climbed out gracefully, taking my bag with him and then he turned around to offer me his hand which I gratefully accepted.

We were actually at the bottom of my driveway near Hummingbird Road, out of view of the house although you could see the illumination cast by the security lights in the yard. The gravel underfoot was still delightfully complete; it had been replaced six months ago and I was worried that it was beginning to wear away. As soon as the door closed behind us Pam drove away with a screech of tires that made me take a cautious step back out of the way.

"I'm really not looking forward to this," I whispered as we set out for the house. It was the middle of the night; my Gran should be asleep, safe and sound tucked up in bed which would leave me with no option but to wake her up. Leaving things until the morning would just make the entire situation worse.

"I'll be there if you want me to stay." It was the new kindest thing he'd ever said to me; I couldn't help but squeeze his arm tightly as we walked. If he gave me the choice he would never leave my side through this.

All too soon we reached the front door. I patted my pockets and it was only then that I realised that I didn't have my keys; they'd been in my purse, the one that I hadn't seen since I was kidnapped. Even if I hadn't wanted to wake my Gran, I didn't have any choice now unless I wanted to spend the night on the porch. Sighing and quite scared I raised my hand to knock as loudly as I dared on the old wood. The sound seemed to echo in my head, making me wince at how loud it was. Eric stood stoutly by my side, his hand on the small of my back and I wasn't entirely sure if he was supporting me or making sure I didn't run back down the drive. I'd rather take on a supernatural being than my angered Gran; she could be very sweet and loving but you didn't cross her.

"Who is it? I'll warn you now I've got the gun out!" I heard her voice from behind the door, sounding very strong to the point of confidence; I didn't doubt for a second that she was clutching the shotgun that we kept in the under stairs cupboard.

"Gran! It's me!" I called back loud and clear, making sure she could hear me. My words were quickly followed by the sound of several bolts unlocking and the next instant the door was thrown open to reveal a very relieved looking little old lady. I couldn't hold myself back, I sprang forward and wrapped my arms around her shoulders hugging her close to my chest. My nose buried into her hair which was in its customary night time braid; she smelled like vanilla and cherry blossoms. To me she was safe and home. "Hi Gran, I'm so sorry." I whispered as I felt her arms slip around my waist to hug me back.

"I'm sure you have a very good reason. Now, come in and tell me." I released her slowly, not surprised that my eyes were wet with unshed tears; I was finally home after the ordeal of the past couple of days. Before she could turn away I brought her attention to the man still standing in the doorway, taking up most of it actually. He looked even paler with the dark back drop; I smiled at the sight of him stood on my porch.

"Gran, I have someone you need to meet first. Eric, please come on in." I smiled up at him as he crossed the threshold as soon as the words had left my lips to stand by my side. "Gran, this is Eric." Surprisingly he actually offered out his hand, carefully raising my Gran's hand to his lips for a motion that I could tell affected her by the broad grin that decorated her face.

"Come in, come in." She waved us both into the living room, flicking the lights on in the house as she went.

"Would anyone like any drinks?"

That was how I came to be sitting in my living room in the middle of the night with a steaming mug of hot chocolate, my second of the night, sitting back to watch as my, I struggled for a word to describe him here, with my Gran who was just lapping up the attention she was getting. We'd explained as much as possible, or rather as much as I was willing to tell, about why I hadn't been able to get in touch for the past few days. Eric was a saviour during some of the questions; he had an amazing ability to think quickly, coming up with plausible stories that were close enough to the truth for me to be able to keep track of the plot. Essentially I'd been in an accident involving a human member of a rival group that had sent me to the hospital for a few hours with a concussion. This would be my 'altercation' with Caleb and how I'd been knocked out with chloroform. We told the truth about the Guardians attacking, just leaving out that Eric had been shot or that the shooter had actually been aiming for me. The room under the Tower of London was transformed into a vampire friendly hotel nearby.

"I am just going to call Pam, make sure she got back okay." My Gran had just finished asking him what he remembered of the American civil war which turned out to not be much since he wasn't in America during the time, rather England with Pam. I also knew that this was some form of an excuse to leave the room; Pam didn't need looking after and he could just have easily sent her a text message. To say he was over a thousand years old he was quite up to date with linguistics and technology. He was actually better at using a computer than me and he could text much faster. It was actually rather irritating.

He'd barely closed the back door when my Gran turned to me, her eyes sparkling and I knew this was going to be the conversation I was dreading. "Tell me why when I called your cell phone it was answered by a man? A man that knew you were asleep without even checking?" She stared me down and I had to fight to keep the blush from spreading across my cheeks, giving me away.

"Eric had taken me out on a date. I was staying in the human suite of his room because there was an issue with the water in my flat." My Gran wasn't a prude, but she also really wouldn't want to hear that I'd been sleeping off a wonderful night with Eric. "I told him I was going to bed, he didn't want to double check in case I was asleep."

"Are you two together?" We'd been sitting on the same sofa but we hadn't been touching at all, occasionally my knee would brush against him as I fidgeted but that was all.

"Well, I'm not sure. We've been on a couple of dates but that was in England."

"Is he good to you?" I nodded before replying with a verbal yes too, just to emphasize how good he really was to me. "Then I'd better speak to him." As though he had been called he walked back into the house, regaining his seat next to me on the sofa and finishing off the last few mouthfuls of the synthetic blood he'd been given.

"Pam okay?" I asked, not bothering to hide the smirk across my lips as I spoke. He simply nodded his head in return.

"What are your intentions with Sookie?" My Gran bluntly asked and the blush I'd previously held at bay successfully spread across my cheeks.

"Only the best. I wish to take her on a date the next night she has off from work. She will be treated like the lady she is."

"Were you in bed with her when I called?" Her eyebrows rose up to almost meet her hairline as she stared pointedly at Eric. The blush across my cheeks spread wide, covering what felt like my entire face; I couldn't believe she was asking these questions. Eric handled it wonderfully; he didn't appear fazed at all, probably because the question didn't bother him. It seemed that my Gran didn't fully believe or trust me since she'd already gone down this line of questioning with me.

"No, she was staying in the human suite of my hotel rooms."

"Okay then. Well I'll leave you two alone now. I need to get some sleep. Sookie dear I will see you in the morning." She stood up and I met her, wrapping my arms around her small shoulders with as much force as I dared, trying to desperately show her how much I loved her and that I really was glad to be back home. Eventually I let go and sat back down on the sofa. "Eric, it's been nice meeting you. If you do anything wrong to her though," she let her voice trail off in a silent threat. It was quite funny that she was threatening a vampire; mind you, she had done it to Bill when we'd first started dating and as far as I knew he was still avoiding her at all costs for fear of what she would do.

I had to admit that when my Gran left us alone the room quickly became full of awkward silence on my part at least. I wasn't sure how to act around Eric now, I was sure my Gran had freaked him out a little although it might have been refreshing for him to be treated like a normal human suitor. Well normal if I ever had any human suitors anyway. Nervously I turned around in my seat to look at him but he was already staring back at me, sitting closer than before.

"Are you staying the night?" I kept my voice as quiet as possible; I wouldn't put it part my Gran to be listening at her bedroom door and for an old lady she had surprisingly good hearing.

"Yes, there is an underground safe place I can use for the day near hear. Or I could always go and stay with Bill." A wicked smirk crossed his face, remaining in place as his eyes began to gleam with mischief as he concocted some devious plan to make Bill squirm. It was a rather tempting thought sending Eric over to stay with Bill; Bill would have to take him in since Eric was sheriff and it would cause serious jealousy. "I like that idea." He shook himself after another second, clearing his head of obviously amusing thoughts and returned to looking directly at me.

"Would you like another True Blood?" I asked already getting up.

"No thank-you," he replied quickly, already directly behind me and closer than I thought. His chest was only a couple of inches away from my back, I could feel his coolness surrounding me and I found myself leaning back into him, knowing that I had no risk of falling. His arms wrapped around my waist instantly as he buried his nose into my neck, sniffing deeply. I was suddenly very aware that I hadn't had a shower in a couple of days; I'd been able to have a wash in the safe room under the Tower of London which I was highly grateful for but my last actual shower was too long ago. "What would you like to do tonight?" His lips were skimming over my skin, teasing me with every syllable.

It was a silly idea, I had no real hope that he'd want to do it but I couldn't resist; I wanted to feel safe and just relax. "How about we watch a movie in my room?" I'd recently had a television installed in there, it wasn't quite as big as the one in the living room but it was decent and it had its own built in DVD player.

"That sounds good." This time he accentuated every word with a little nip that sent shivers running down my spine every time his teeth connected with my flesh. I needed to get out of this embrace quickly if he was ever going to let me go for a shower.

"Okay, stay here and I'll be back in about twenty minutes. Human requirements." I squeezed his arms around me for a second before releasing him and stepping smoothly out of his arms. I didn't look back as I scurried across the hall and into my room to grab my things before I could head into the bathroom. My room didn't have an en-suite although with only two people living in the house at the minute it didn't make any difference especially since it was next door anyway.

I'd barely started to lather up the shampoo in my hair when I felt the disturbance in the room. Someone was in here with me and my first reaction was pure shock followed swiftly by fear as I tried to determine who exactly it was; in hindsight, that was a rather silly feeling. It was all overtaken by elation as I realised who had joined me, locking the door behind him with a metallic click.

"Hi," I whispered out, only just loud enough to be heard over the sound of the water pumping out of the shower head.

"Hello lover," Eric replied as he opened the glass door so that he could step inside in all his naked glory.

"You know my Gran is just down the hall right?"

"I'm not thinking about your Gran," he replied with a bemused expression as though he couldn't understand why I was thinking about her at a time like this either. I wasn't entirely sure myself. By this point she would surely be asleep and it wasn't as though she could accidently walk in on us or anything. He must have noticed I still wasn't fully in the moment because I didn't even see him move before his hands were in my hair, massaging my scalp and his lips were on mine, fighting for dominance which I gladly gave to him. It was safe to say I never thought of anything but the two of us for the remainder of the night.

He was deliciously cool against my heated body and I found myself pressing even closer because of it. His moaning response was all I needed to wrap my arms around his neck to pull myself up to onto my tiptoes so I could reach him a little bit better. His hands left my head to trail down my back and it wasn't until I felt the hardness of the bar of soap that I realised he'd grabbed it. He worked across my entire body, my shoulders, my back and down to my bottom, getting as much of my thighs as he possibly could without stooping. It also worked to elicit growls from my throat at the teasing motions; I ended up tugging on his hair in frustration, dragging him further under the spray with me.

Just after my hands had begun to wander across the expanse of his muscles I was spun around with no warning, causing a slight squeal from me which I quickly stopped. Somewhere deep down I knew we had to be quite quiet. I was soon pressed up against him, my back into his chest and I had to close my eyes when I felt his gracious plenty digging in too. My front then got the same treatment as my back although he'd stepped us forward so that my hair was fully rinsed by the time he'd finished teasing me with his brushing strokes over my lower stomach, upper chest and thighs.

"Eric," I mumbled, hardly able to articulate even a simple word. His chuckle resonated in my ears as he squeezed me tightly into him. He pressed open mouthed kisses down along the line of my neck, starting off softly and then pressing hard enough so that I felt his fangs digging in. I snapped at that point. I turned around to face him, a slightly snarling growl on my lips before I brought my lips to his in a fierce kiss that actually sent him back half a step.

In a whirl of motion I was pressed up against the freezing cold tile by his cool body, still under the hot spray from the shower. The temperature contrast was a delightful new sensation and I showed my appreciation by hitching my leg up over his hips. It was the only other hint he needed before he grabbed the back of my thighs so that I could spread my legs around his waist properly and then he was in me, driving me over the edge into oblivion quickly. At some point I begged for him to bite me, I discovered the little marks in the morning, but I honestly didn't remember it.

"No clothes," he chastised as I went to grab a pair of pyjama boxer shorts from one of the drawers. The pair that Amelia had given me had miraculously been packed during the rush to leave the hotel; they needed to be put in the laundry though so this was a simple black pair. I raised an eyebrow at him in question. Eric was lying on my bed, unashamedly sprawled naked on top of the duvet with one arm tucked behind his head so that he was still somewhat sitting up. It was all thanks to Eric that I'd been able to make it back to my bedroom and in fact that I was dry; my legs had only just started working properly. "You wanted to relax and watch a movie. I do not want any barriers." I glanced down at the towel that was wrapped tightly around my body; it was a little on the small side since it was effectively pushing my breasts up and was only just a modest length on my legs. "No towel." He growled out and when I glanced up at him I found that his eyes were sparkling, watching every little movement I made. I smiled slightly to myself before grabbing the remote control and walking over to him, dropping the towel just before I slipped underneath the covers. He swiftly joined me, pulling me into his side.

"What do you want to watch?" I asked, lazily switching the television on and swapping through the channels.

"I don't care," he replied honestly as his hand began to roam up and down my back, tracing little patterns on my skin as he went. It was his own fault, giving me free reign with the remote control. We ended up watching the movie Queen of the Damned which had only started a few minutes previously.

That was how I ended up going to sleep; curled up around my vampire. My head rested half on his chest, half on his shoulder with my arm thrown around his chest so that I could play with his hair this time. I had one leg over his meaning that I was pressed as close up to him as I possibly could get; he really didn't seem to mind. If anything he seemed to enjoy it, pulling me closer anytime I moved minutely. I had a sneaking suspicion that he was a snuggler, even if he would never admit it. An hour into the film my eyes began to droop so I spent the rest of the time listening to his mutterings.

"Vampires would never do that, it's just ridiculous." He muttered at one point, referencing the way the vampires were attacking the stage one by one. "Attack all at once, it's one of the first things you learn."

"Good soundtrack," I managed to mumble back, not bothering to open my eyes.

"Hmm. I can think of better sounds." I actually swatted his hand away as the one that had been gesturing at the television came under the covers to rest on my waist moving inwards toward my chest.

"Later," I whispered. At least I think I did. I was perfectly content and perfectly safe. Nothing could bother me now, not even the fact that I knew he wouldn't be beside me when I woke up in the morning. I needed to invest in more black out blinds, I already had the shutters. With that last random thought I finally succumbed to full sleep, full of dreams of a certain Viking vampire I knew.

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**So what did you think? You know i love feedback almost as much as i love a certain viking vampire. The two lemons in this chapter was asked/requested/guessed by a reviewer so you have her to thank for that. If you ever want to see anything or have any form of suggestion, let me know i'm happy to try anything out, even if it ends up being an outtake. **

**The title this week, I can't make you stay comes from the My Chemical Romance song. I'll admit i hadn't thought of one and that happens to be the song playing on my playlist at the minute. If you have a better suggestion let me know. **

**I think that brings this little chapter to a close. So thanks for reading, and i'll see you next friday. *hugs***

**Happy Thanksgiving!  
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	13. Can't Get My Head Around You

**Hey guys, **

**how are you all? I hope you had a very good Thanksgiving and a good week in general. So what's new this week; i've finished my first term at vet school, all thats left now is an exam on tuesday and an essay, i have a cold :( but it's all good and i don't have really news worthy. **

**England has been thrust into winter with lots of snow, several feet back where i'm from although the area of london where i am had about an inch of fresh snow on two separate occasions and its all melted away now. Kinda pathetic really although i don't really want any more snow either, i want to be able to get home for christmas vacation. **

**This week at college it's been all about reproduction so i know some very strange facts, i'll share a few;**

**A boar can ejaculate up to 500ml of semen in one go**

**A dog only has one accessory gland the prostate**

**The boar again, he literally screws into the female's cervix where deep pressure on the glands stimulates ejaculation**

**It's very difficult to artificially inseminate a ewe due to her twisted uterine horns and stuff, so artificial insemination is usually done laproscopically. **

**There are two types of penis; fibroelastic such as the bull and musculovascular such as the stallion and human. **

**I'll leave it at that. :) So as always a very big thank-you to my wonderful betas campyrs and trajedy99, i really couldn't do this without them. Also, Charlaine Harris owns the wonderful Southern Vampire Mysteries. **

**On with the chapter**

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When I awoke the next morning I was, of course, alone with soft sunlight filling my room even though my curtains were securely shut. I sighed and rolled over onto my back, keeping the duvet pulled up snugly around me, creating a cocoon affect that effectively kept the cold out. I didn't particularly like waking up alone, especially after the night I'd had and well, the past few days in general. The last couple of nights had been bad because I was quite simply terrified to be alone when I was sleeping. It had a been a joy staying at the hotel to wake up with Eric beside me, it hadn't happened much, thrice really and none had been brilliant situations; the queen waking us up, and my Gran on the phone or after I'd been kidnapped. I finally glanced over at my alarm clock finding that I was quickly running out of morning. I was lucky my Gran hadn't been knocking yet to wake me up; she would consider sleeping in this late to be a waste of the day. It was while I was dressing that I began to wonder where Eric was since I couldn't remember him waking me to say goodbye and he hadn't mentioned his definitive plan to me earlier. I suppose it was safer to not tell anyone. If he had gone to stay with Bill I needed an immediate recount of the tale and preferably a picture of his reaction. That would have been a wonderful Kodak moment.

"Sookie? You up girl?" my Gran called through the door and instead of just replying I pulled a shirt on over my head and threw the door open, a big smile on my face. "Oh!" She exclaimed before quickly regaining her composure. "I have some food on the table." That was how I spent the rest of the daylight hours; catching up with my Gran in the way that only women can. We spoke endlessly about silly little details like the cleanliness of the hotel, what'd I'd eaten on my date, what clothes I'd worn and the architecture of the buildings I'd seen. I left Sam a message letting him know that I was back in town and willing to be put back into the work rotation as soon as he needed me. It may sound big headed of me, but I read it directly from the heads of patrons every day, or at least enough for me to believe it; I was the best waitress at Merlotte's and I had a feeling I would have been missed.

"What do you want for dinner? I'm cooking." My Gran was in the living room watching a documentary on the history of St. Louis, Missouri while she sewed up a little hole in her favourite cardigan.

"Toad in the hole, unless you're fed up with English food," she replied, pausing her hand movements so that she could safely look up at me. I hadn't dared to tell her that I hadn't really had that much English food while I was over the pond, so this meal was completely fine with me. It was also easy to cook and clean up afterward.

I padded down the hallway to my room so that I could grab an old sweater to put on over my shirt; it was a little chilly and I didn't want to get anything too nice dirty. I pushed the door shut behind me, offering myself a little privacy, and grabbed my sweater from where it was folded neatly on top of my chest of drawers. I stretched up to pull the material over my head and as I did so I saw a flash of something in the mirror behind me.

"Argh!" I squealed out, spinning around with only one free arm to face whoever was in my room. I really wasn't prepared for what faced me. Eric was standing just outside of my closet, the door still partially open and best of all, without a shirt. My eyes were already wide with shock, and if I was honest fright, that he was in my room; that I let myself ogle his wonderfully defined pecs that only had a smattering of pale hair. "What the hell?" I asked with my hand on my throat where I was sure my heart had jumped to.

"You okay Sookie?" My Gran called out and she didn't seem quite as far away as before, as though she had moved from the corner of the living room.

"Yeah, I'm fine, thought I saw a spider." It was the best I could come up with, to be fair I didn't like spiders but I also didn't hate them enough to scream at the mere sight of one. I just hoped my Gran wouldn't think too much of it and come investigating; it wouldn't be good for her to discover that Eric had spent the night, well day.

"Good evening lover," was his only reply as he pulled a shirt on. I noticed that it was both clean and different to the one he'd been wearing last night. I had no idea where it had come from.

"Where did you?" I stuttered out, trying to ask several questions at once.

"I called Bill last night, he told me about the 'hidey hole'," at this point he actually used air quotations around the words, obviously quoting Bill. "So I spent the day here. You said I could stay."

"Of course, that's fine. I can't believe it's still light tight down there."

"Minimal wear and tear, I will line it before I use it again." With that simple statement, he wasn't even looking at me while he spoke instead he gazed studiously back into the closet, but it was enough to send my heart fluttering all over again and a happiness spread through me. If he planned on using the hidey hole again he planned on staying with me again. It was strange that I'd actually forgotten about the bolt hole hidden under the floor boards in my closet.

I walked straight over to him, placing my hands on his shoulders and standing on tip toes so I could place my lips on his in a hello kiss. He wasted no time in slipping his hands around my waist to pull me even closer so that I fell against the long line of his body. His lips moved softly against mine so that I could feel his elongated fangs behind them; he was hungry for something or possibly someone.

"That is a nice hello," he whispered appreciatively as we broke apart too soon for my liking. "But I do have to leave. I need to get back to Fangtasia." I nodded my head in reply; having him staying over in my house had exceeded my expectations so this had been a lovely surprise.

I nodded before reaching up for him again. He met me half way, turning us around so that I was sandwiched between him and the bedroom wall. He was forceful against me, fighting for dominance and this time I fought back. My tongue entered into his willing mouth, teasing along his fangs, running the tip around them slowly to the length of a rasping groan from him before I returned my attention to his tongue.

"We have to stop," I breathed out as soon as my mouth was free for words He'd begun to kiss along my jaw line toward my neck in a pattern that I'd already begun to realise meant he wanted blood as well; I wasn't complaining at all.

"Why?" He asked, pressing his lips into mine ever so slightly so that I could feel just how ready for more he was.

"Because if we don't stop you'll never get back to the bar in time and I'll never leave my bedroom." I replied as I began to push ineffectively against his shoulders. He got my point and stepped back, allowing me enough room to straighten my sweater and smooth down my hair.

"You started it." He was sullen and it took all my effort not to start laughing out loud at his childish statement. Even so a smile tweaked the corners of my mouth so I carefully placed a chaste kiss on his lips, pulling back before he could even begin to kiss back.

"I have to ask, why did you name the bar Fangtasia?" It had been something I'd wanted to know since I'd learned the Shreveport vampire bar's name quite awhile ago. Whenever I asked Pam she would simply shrug and continue with our conversation as though nothing had been said about it. Although the name worked to get across the point that it was a vampire bar but then again so would a lot of names weren't quite so cheesy.

"I chose it, I liked it. I wanted a play on words that did not have any hidden meaning." I understood the name perfectly although it didn't stop the slight giggle from escaping my lips. He actually growled in response.

"I will lock the bedroom door," he threatened, calming me instantly, even though I could see the soft set of his eyes and the beginnings of a smile on his lips. "Better. When is your next night off?" His demeanour shifted then, becoming more businesslike and it was a little startling. His playfulness was gone although I could tell he was still happy.

"I don't know. I won't until Sam gets in touch with my schedule for the week."

"Call me when you know." With that he walked across my room, his fingers brushing against my hips as he passed me. I didn't have time to warn him that he couldn't be seen before he disappeared from view. I reached the door in time to see the front door closing softly behind him, though I didn't see him at all.

"Sookie? What was that?" At least my Gran was still safely in the living room.

"What was what?" I asked as I walked into the lounge with a smile plastered across my face.

"I thought I heard the door."

"Nope, I didn't hear a thing and there's no one here." I tapped the side of my head to let her know exactly how I knew for definite before finally heading toward the kitchen to start on dinner. At least I knew what I would be thinking about while cooking; the strange behaviour shift in Eric as he left. I concluded that it must have just been him getting ready to head back into work mode, I couldn't bring myself to consider any other option at this time, not after the night we'd had.

"Hey Sam," I called out as I walked through the back, employees, entrance to Merlotte's. My boss wasn't in his usual position behind his desk although I could hear his mental signature, despite him being a shapeshifter, somewhere within the bar.

"Sookie," his voice was sincerely happy to see me and I clamped down on my mental shields as he walked into the room. The bar towel used for dusting tucked into his jeans pocket telling me that he'd been cleaning behind the bar. "How are you doing?" He walked straight up to me and wrapped his arms around my shoulders in a warm embrace that I instantly returned, allowing myself to feel his heat soak into my skin. Shapeshifters ran wonderfully hot naturally.

"I'm doing good." I replied, pulling back so that I could smile up at him and see his blue eyes sparkling. Sam was a very good friend, one whom I trusted and who trusted me back in return. He was the best boss I had ever worked for and probably ever would work for; he understood me, knowing what it was like to be different and having to hide it from most of the people in your life. "How about you?" I finished shucking off my jacket so that I could hang it up on the hook in the office allocated for staff belongings. His slight gasp was what alerted me to the fact that something was wrong. "What?"

"Your neck." My hands flew up to my neck, wondering what he'd seen, immediately feeling two little bumps right at the junction between my neck and shoulder. The lumps were tiny, barely more than pinpricks and the swelling told me that they must have been from last night; any longer and they would have been completely healed. I turned around and gazed in the little mirror that hung beside the coat pegs; the lumps were barely pinker than my normal skin and there was no bruising at all. If you hadn't known they were there, or were looking for them you weren't very likely to notice them at all. "Sookie, please tell me it wasn't Bill." Sam's hatred of all vampires was pretty mellow really for a shapeshifter unless it came to my ex, then he seemed to harbour enough grudges for all of his kind.

"It wasn't Bill."

"Good. Dare I ask who?" He came to stand behind me, placing his hands on my shoulders so that he could spin me around to look at him.

"Eric, you know the vampire that runs the bar over in Shreveport."

"I know who he is." I couldn't tell from his tone his feelings on the matter and I didn't dare lower my shields enough to figure out exactly what his statement meant, or if I should read anything into it at all. "He's better than Bill, but Sookie you have to be careful; he's not someone to mess around with Chere."

"I know Sam and I am being careful. He helped me out a lot in London, he gave me a reason to trust him and he hasn't done anything since to say that I shouldn't."

"Okay," just keep your guard up." He gave me another brief hug, leaving his arm around my shoulders as we stood in his office. "Now, speaking of London, is it all true?" Just like that I had someone that I could tell nearly everything to; he wouldn't squirm at the gory violent details and he wouldn't blink about a demon being thrown into the mix of supernatural creatures. The only bits I couldn't tell him about were the details pertaining to Eric and I which I really didn't want to tell him anyway, those would only be for Amelia's ears. Speaking of which I hadn't been in touch with her for far too long.

"So, it's all true. Have you heard about the Fellowship's response?" I spun around to stare at him then; I hadn't heard anything about the Fellowship since I'd returned. We sitting in the store room, using a couple of crates as benches, because it was the only place where we could both seem like we were working and wouldn't be disturbed, although when I'd told Arlene that Sam wanted me to work in the storeroom for awhile her expression hadn't been a happy one.

"What have they said?" I didn't need the slight wave of emotion I got from him, despite my shields, to tell that the Fellowship was planning something I really wouldn't like.

"They have said that the vampires started all of it and that no vampires were killed in the supposed attack, only the Guardians meaning was that it couldn't have been them attacking."

"But that's ridiculous! It wouldn't make any difference who attacked first if you're just going by the number of dead." I was already breathing heavily in anger; I was taking this too personally.

"I know Chere," he rubbed my shoulder, trying to calm me down but a hot touch did nothing to ease me anymore, not like it used to. "No one's listening to common sense on it either, because there were humans that died. I don't know how they're explaining how they all got inside a secure vampire hotel though."

"Okay, what are they saying unofficially?" I knew that Sam had a contact within the inner circle of the main Fellowship of the Sun church over in Dallas.

"They're planning some sort of attack on one of the main vampires that attended the Summit." I didn't even get a chance to open my mouth before he held up one of his hands and continued. "She hasn't got any more information than that; she isn't privy to the more confidential details. I don't know when, I don't know what and I don't know who. There are several vampires it could be. Personally I have my money on the Queen."

"Our Queen?" I suddenly felt rather queasy, I also realised that I hadn't heard anything about Sophie Anne in a couple of days so I had no idea whether she'd made it back to the United States or not.

"Yeah, she's high profile in St Louis especially, I don't think she's capable of living a quiet life, she was one of the higher level vampires at the summit and it's not that far away from Dallas compared to the others."

"Oh fuck," I muttered knowing that I'd have to tell someone and that I would somehow get drawn into security or protection because it always seemed to happen like that.

"Perhaps they could keep you out of it this time." Even Sam didn't seem as convinced when he spoke. He was trying to comfort me, just knowing that someone cared enough to speak kind words to me worked though and I pulled myself together quickly.

"Of course they will, when don't they?" I slapped a broad smile on my face, the one that I usually expressed when I was nervous or just trying so hard to keep my shields strong that I couldn't think too hard. "Now, I better get back to work or the boss will be docking my pay."

My shift at the bar was long and arduous; I'd only been out for about a week yet I still seemed to have fallen behind, taking longer to complete small tasks than before. I quickly decided to blame it on the patrons stopping me quite often to see how my holiday had been and what I'd been up to. Most people were just after some gossip, I let my shields down enough to see if they were sincere, so I gave them the basic details of the places I'd visited and left it at that. It turned out to only be Hoyt, my buffoon of a brother's best friend that was genuine about his questions. When I got off work it had just turned eleven, quite early even considering it was a week night and everyone had to get up and go to work in the morning, I already knew that I had to call Fangtasia. I'd almost been caught by Arlene when I'd been deciding on a course of action.

"Fangtasia or the Queen?" I muttered to myself under my breath while I sliced some fresh lemons and limes behind the bar. "Eric or Sophie Anne?" When I phrased the question like that it was obvious which one I was going to do, no matter the repercussions; the Queen would likely get mad if she found out I told a mere sheriff about her possible plight instead of going straight to her.

"Who's Eric?" Arlene asked in a rather loud voice that caused several of the people sat at the bar to turn around and stare at us.

"Arlene!" I stage-whispered back, reprimanding her for drawing so much attention to us. The last thing I needed on a night like this was people paying too much attention to me due to gossip. "And it's no one important."

"Nonsense, that's a man and you're talking about calling him." She either hadn't heard the second name or was choosing to ignore it completely. I didn't stoop low enough to just pluck the answer from her brain.

"Fine, it's a guy from Shreveport." I went back to slicing the lemons, taking much more care with them than what was really needed.

"So, what's he like?" She actually came to rest her butt on the counter next to where I was working, facing forward so that she could keep an eye on her tables.

"Tall, blond, European." I replied, making sure to not actually tell any lies but also keeping the most important fact to Arlene to myself. "Hot." I whispered as an addition but the little squeal that emitted from her lips telling me that she'd heard.

"Oh Sookie, it's about time you came back to the living men, there's a lot to be said for a bit of warmth." I didn't bother to correct her, it would be easier all round if she continued to believe that and it wasn't like I was going to be bringing Eric into Merlotte's any time soon to introduce him to all my friends. The only person's approval I would like here would be Sam's.

When I got home I was relieved to find that my Gran was already in bed, the light coming from under her door telling me that she'd stayed up reading so that she could make sure I got back alright.

"Night Gran!" I called out to her happily as I made my way to my own room, having already decided that this would be a call I made from my cell phone; I couldn't risk being overhead.

I collapsed onto my bed, not bothering to unfasten my shoelaces before scraping them off using my toes. My hands worked to undo my bobble, allowing even my scalp to relax and I knew I had to make this phone call quickly because my bed was inviting; soft duvet and plump pillows. So I sighed and grabbed my cell phone from my purse which had landed beside me.

"Hello, you've reached Fangtasia the bar with bite where life begins at night." I recognised Pam's bored drawl as soon as she started speaking but decided to let her continue through with the rest of the speech for my own amusement.

"Hey Pam," I called out happily.

"Sookie, you could have said something." I could have just been reading too much into her tone but I could have sworn that she sounded slightly less fed-up; perhaps she was pleased to speak with me. "What do you want?" It was nice to see her telephone manners hadn't improved any since I'd last called her.

"I'm very good thank-you Pam, how kind of you to ask." It seemed I was in a sarcastic mood, I guess working a long, busy shift would do that to you. "I need to speak to Eric."

"Oh, he's busy at the moment. Business or pleasure?" I actually began to stutter over my words before I answered; would one reply get a different response than the other?

"Both actually."

"Oh, then that isn't as much fun for me. What's the pleasure?" Even just speaking while we were miles apart I felt hot blood flow over my cheeks in a deep blush.

"He promised me a date, I had to let him know when I had a night off work."

"I'll let him know, he said that I had to take a message. I don't see why he can't take his own messages, he has a phone. So what's the business aspect since you're not being fun?" I could hear the sounds from the other end of the phone changing as though she was walking through the bar, it was getting quieter and as soon as I heard a dull thudding everything went quiet.

"I have some information regarding the Fellowship and the Queen he needs to know."

"Can you tell me?"

"No." It was best not to involve Pam if possible; I didn't know if she was allowed to know or not, I also highly anticipated that the Queen's and Eric's opinions on the matter would be different.

"Fine," she whispered so quietly I was on the verge of calling it mumbling. "Eric!" She called out, louder than I'd anticipated, the yell was swiftly followed by the sound of a door opening and I could only assume she was walking into his office which was on the back corridor of the bar, sound proofed from everything else. I'd actually been in his office once when I was on an errand run, it had been during the day time though and it had been poor Ginger that had let me in.

"Pam, I said not to disturb me." Eric's voice was deep and commanding, making me squirm on my bed through slight shock and fear at the reaction he obtained from me.

"I thought you might want to know some information regarding our dearest Queen."

"Pam, she is not even in the country, I said to not disturb me. Get out!" The last was almost thunderous and I couldn't imagine how Pam hadn't fled from the room or how she'd even plucked up the courage to enter in the first place.

"He's still a little busy right now Sookie."

"Pam!" I heard another shout from Eric, this one was different as though he was actually calling her when he realised it was me on the phone.

"I'll get him to call you back when he isn't busy. Have a good night." With that she hung up and I had to re-evaluate my earlier assumption of her phone manners; that was more of a pleasant goodbye than I'd ever got out of her.

I half expected to get a call back straight away, I purposefully kept telling myself it wouldn't happen so as to avoid true disappointment and it was a good job I did because I didn't get a call that night. In fact I got no contact from any vampire at all for the remainder of the night. I fell into a deep sleep before I even got a chance to shower or change into my pyjamas. In the morning I blamed it on jet lag.

When I arrived at Merlotte's the next evening the bar was already busy with the dinner time rush and I took over from a very relieved looking Arlene who thankfully didn't ask me anything else about Eric, although I did get a rather blunt stare from her as she walked towards the office. I shrugged the feeling off; sadly I couldn't keep it to the back of my mind for long because as soon as I stepped out into the main dining area I felt the buzz of gossip around me. My shields were low enough for me to hear people saying my name; I couldn't get away from it. It's like when someone says your name across the room quietly; even if you aren't listening in to their conversation you still hear it even though you couldn't make anything else out. So I knew walking up to my first table that needed a fresh pitcher of beer that they'd been discussing me.

"Anything else for you guys?" I recognised the men from around Bon Temps, probably working for the Parish road crew or something; they were regulars though I couldn't recall their names.

"No thanks, though you can answer a question for us." The guy speaking was obviously the leader, he was sitting closest to me and his speech was slurred, showing he'd had a bit too much beer than was good for him. He'd be feeling it in the morning. In hindsight I should have just walked away or at least checked to what I was agreeing to first.

"Sure, what's that?" Perhaps I was too good of a waitress, needing to keep all my patrons happy.

"Is it true what they say? Are vampires really better in the sack?" My mouth dropped open at the gall the strange man had at asking me such a question. I managed to not retaliate, I just stared at him for a second before grabbing the pitcher and angrily storming away, so much so that the little bit of liquid left in the bottom sloshed violently up the sides.

"Men," I huffed as I passed the pitcher to Sam who was bar tending for the evening. Sam really was a good guy, an honest friend and it showed as he only raised a strawberry blond eyebrow in question of my statement. "Some guys over there have had a little too much, they were asking me ridiculous questions."

"Do I need to throw them out?" Without him even realising it his hand slid along the bar to where he kept the baseball bat for defence if anyone got a little too rowdy for even him to handle.

"No, it's fine. Not too bad; nothing that I haven't handled before. Just don't let them have anymore after this. I'll tell them but who knows whether they'll listen." I didn't even speak to them when I returned the pitcher to their table, I just plopped it down in the centre and walked away, ignoring them completely, tips be damned.

My next issue came when I served Jane Bodehouse her final drink of the night; a double jack and coke. It was nearing the end of the night and my shields were beginning to slip a little. I'd actually dropped them to see what sort of state she was in and whether I should cut her off before or after this drink. Unfortunately for me it was deemed to be after this drink since her brain was still making quite a lot of sense.

_Don't know why they chose her. What about me? I'm a good catch. Can drink with the best of them, keep 'em company. Plus, liquor makes you hot. _This was accompanied by a disgustingly graphical urge for her to take her shirt off to relieve the trickles of sweat flowing down between her breasts. _Bill wasn't my type anyway, wouldn't have said no, gotta do a vamp at least once before you die. A second though. That's gotta take someone. I wonder who the bastard is that would take Crazy Sookie._ I only let it get that far before sliding the drink over the table and taking a step back, slamming my shields as tightly into place as I could.

"You okay Chere?"

"Yeah, just someone told them." The confused expression on his handsome face only lasted a split second before he understood my statement; someone had told the people of Bon Temps that I had a new vampire in tow.

"I promise it wasn't me."

"Oh, I know Sam." I gave him a half hearted, one arm hug but he got the sentiment and squeezed my shoulders back in return.

I managed to get through the rest of my shift, a further two and half hours by the time all the after-closing chores had been completed, by keeping to myself and thinking deeply as much as possible. It limited the amount of concentration I had for the bits of thoughts that slipped through my shields. I worked on trying to deduce who could have started the gossip about my new vampiric relationship. It was obvious by the rather vague things I'd picked up that the people didn't know a specific vampire, they just knew I was 'screwing' a vampire from around these parts. I only had four people that even knew of my relationship and from those I had essentially two suspects considering the other two were my Gran and Sam, neither would tell. That left Arlene and Bill. Now I knew Arlene liked her gossip and was likely to tell some people what she'd garnered from me yesterday but she didn't know the vampiric aspect which meant it had been Bill that had started everything off. If it had been Bill it also explained Arlene's blunt stare; she knew I'd lied to her about my new guy being a human.

I couldn't believe Bill would stoop to this low level of spreading gossip about me. I actually remembered a time when he was sweet, caring and, I thought at the time, loyal to me. He would take me out on dates that were fun and interesting. He would tell me tales about how Bon Temps used to be and the difficulties he'd had when he first started to mainstream. Of course that didn't last and I knew that most of it had always been fake, it didn't stop me from occasionally missing the intimacy he provided; a comforting hug after a long, horrible day or soft words whispered to me as I began to sleep.

Well there was nothing I could do about it all now, I just had to put up with it until the next rumour or piece of gossip started up, which living in a small town where it was difficult to keep secrets, wouldn't be very long. When I got home that night and checked my cell phone I was surprised to see that I had two new messages blinking at me, so I said a quick goodnight to my Gran and padded into my room, much like the night before to listen to my messages.

"Sookie, I got your message from Pam." If he'd been a normal person there would have been an apology tucked into the little speech here, since it was Eric he just continued onward. "She did not tell me that it was you that was on the phone. I am intrigued as to this information that Pam says you could not tell her. Call me back." He didn't bother saying goodbye; I had yet to find a vampire that actually possessed modern day, polite telephone manners. I deleted the message straight away; it wasn't like I would forget to call him back.

"Hello Lover," I smiled as soon as I heard his name for me and I knew right from the start that this message would be completely different to the previous one, just by the name he called me. I glanced at the time on the message, realising that he'd called me an hour ago and that there had only been about forty five minutes in between his phone calls. "I have realised I never asked for when your free night is and I have to say, I am much more interested in that piece of information than I am the other. I will not give my personal number out in a voice message, anyone could get it, but call me back please." The please tagged on the end cinched the deal; I would be calling him back straight away, well as soon as I'd stopped grinning from the fluttering he was causing in my chest. I also noticed that he was rather paranoid, but then again I had read somewhere that paranoia was synonymous with longevity and he kind of proved that statement. "I want you lover, call me back." He hung up at that point, leaving me wanting more even form a mere answer phone message. He'd been accentuating his accent throughout, probably because he knew exactly what it did for me. I couldn't get my head around him though, yet again he'd done a complete one eighty mood-wise very quickly indeed.

"Fangtasia, where life begins at night." I grinned all over again when I heard Eric answer the phone himself. A quick glance at the clock told me that even Fangtasia would be closing down by this time considering how late it was, or rather early actually.

"Hey, Eric."

"Lover," he replied back and I heard a soft thud as a door shut a moment later. "You took a long time calling back."

"I was working, I had the late shift at Merlotte's."

"Hmm," he paused, drawing out the sound as though he was considering something deeply. "What are you wearing?"

"Eric!" I chastised a little too loudly and I stared at my door apprehensively, wondering if I'd been loud enough to wake my Gran who really did have brilliant hearing.

"You're no fun tonight." He grumbled but I just knew he wasn't being very serious. "Now, important things first, when is your next free night? I mean all night." I squeezed my thighs together at the delicious reaction he evoked with those four little words.

"I have Saturday off completely. Won't you be working?"

"Yes, but that will not stop me. I'll pick you up at first dark. We will have to come to Fangtasia for a couple of hours first but then I will take you on a date. Does that sound good?"

"Brilliant," I replied honestly; it may not have been ideal to have to go spend time at Fangtasia during out first date this side of the Atlantic but it would be nice to visit the bar for pleasure and be accompanied by Eric. Plus he'd said all night free, I could afford a little bit of time out of the night for a more business aspect.

"Now, about this information..." just like that we were back to business and I couldn't suppress my sigh.

"I found out that the Fellowship is planning something, some sort of attack on a high level vampire that took part in the summit. It makes sense for it to be the Queen."

"Yes, she lives closest out of the main leaders that were there and is definitely within the public eye down in St. Louis never mind New Orleans." He really had intelligence; he'd picked up on my explanation within a second of me telling him the information. I liked a man with brains. "I will see to it that the Queen knows. I will not tell her how I found out."

"Thank-you," I whispered sincerely, trying to convey just how very grateful I was with the simple endearment.

"Right, well if you won't tell me anything about what you're wearing. Wait, if you won't tell me does that mean you're wearing nothing?"

"Eric! No!"

"No you aren't wearing clothes or no you are wearing clothes?"

"Stop it. And I am wearing clothes, my Merlotte's uniform."

"Well that's rather disappointing, not at all what I had in mind." I just huffed down the phone, letting him hear my mock exasperation; secretly I was enjoying his teasing. "Well I will see you on Saturday. Good night lover." I didn't get a chance to say anything back in return before he'd hung up the phone. I also never got a chance to get his cell phone number. It didn't matter; I had a date planned for Saturday. That was how I fell asleep, thinking over the possible places he could be taking me.

* * *

**So what did you think? You know i love feedback almost as much as i love a certain viking vampire. Have any suggestions for what you'd like to see in future? I already have some stuff planned for Fangtasia! **

**The title this week, (Can't Get My) Head Around You is a song by The Offspring. **

**So thanks for reading and i'll see you next week. **

***hugs*  
**


	14. Pandora

**Hey guys, **

**how are you all doing? Good I hope. **

**It's been a difficult week; real exam on tuesday which, well i honetly don't know how well i did but i'll let you know when i find out, and a mock exam today. Also got given my essay assignment which i need to finish by wednesday, okay that's a self imposed deadline since the real one isn't until friday. I'm quite excited right now, term is pretty much other which means that next week's update will be posted by me from home! **

**Anyway, since last weeks little facts went down quite well, here's some more. (these are mainly just random though)**

**1. The reproductive tract of a female isn't a closed system, with one ovary producing a dominant follicle at ovulation. Sperm will swim toward the fallopian tube/oviduct that has ovulated. In research where the ovulated side was blocked off, sperm have swum up and out through the remaining fallopian tube and round to the side that ovulated, cutting through the abdomen. **

**2. Horses don't have a gall bladder**

**3. The triceps muscle in a dog actually has four muscle bellies/insertions**

**Right, so Charlaine Harris owns the wonderful Southern Vampire Mysteries. I want to say a huge thank-you to my betas campyrs and trajedy99, really couldn't do this without them, it's amazing what they pick up on. Also, the last little bit of this chapter hasnt been beta-ed because i was a bad writer and didn't get this chapter completed in time because i was being a good student. If you know this song you'll know what coming up, just ignore the 'spoken for' stuff, that's not important. Oh, and a saloon car is the same as a sedan. **

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It was with a little trepidation that I walked into Merlotte's the next night. I'd spent my day helping my Gran clean the house, thinking about what I would wear on my date and what might be waiting for me at work. There was a lot of small town gossip but even in Bon Temps things didn't always change overnight so I had an idea that there would be at least some murmuring about me. I shouldn't have worried too much; there was nothing I could really do about it. I was working a slightly earlier shift tonight so I wouldn't be closing the bar which was when the bad things tended to happen; I wouldn't be forced to deal with drunkards.

"Evening Sam," I called out quite cheerily as I walked from behind the bar, still tying my apron laces around my waist. The bar had an overall good atmosphere about it tonight and after I'd checked with my telepathy there were no obviously malicious minds out there, no vampires either. In fact the only supernatural creature in Merlotte's tonight was Sam.

"Sookie, you feeling any better?" He couldn't ask the questions he really wanted to in front of the public so I smiled my acknowledgement before actually giving him a verbal response.

"Yes thank-you. I got in touch with one of my friends last night, we've decided not to meet up yet but wait until things quieten down a little." It was the best I could come up with on such short notice and I hope he took it to mean that I'd told someone about the information I'd been told and that I was hopefully not getting involved with it, I wasn't too hopeful.

"Okay, that's good." He went back to checking the bottles in the fridge then and I stepped out onto the main floor, relieving Charlsie of her section.

Work was surprisingly pleasant, I heard barely a murmur of people talking about me and that was with my actual ears. People were tipping quite generously and I only had one scrooge table that simply put a one dollar bill on the table after ordering several beers to accompany their chicken wing basket. I was in the storeroom collecting some fresh tomato sauce packets to distribute to the tables when things took a turn for the worse, or better, depending on how you looked at it.

I didn't feel the vampire enter, my shields were firmly locked into place to protect me as much as possible, but I did feel the wave of discomfort wash through the bar. It was that feeling that brought my attention back to reality instead of estimating how many boxes I needed. I quickly walked back toward the bar to find out what was going on, not daring to drop my shields to find out more about the situation.

What I saw surprised me. A giant of a man was standing just inside the main doors of Merlotte's, his back to the door and Arlene with her fiery red hair was blocking his path any further inside the building. Every single head within the bar was turned to face the pair of them, even though nothing was being spoken, yet. I searched frantically around for Sam, wondering how he was letting the situation escalate when I came up with nothing.

"Shit," I mumbled to myself, having remembered that Sam would be down in the cellar, checking stock down there ready for tomorrow morning's delivery. Now, don't get me wrong I was ecstatic to see this particular blond vampire I was just displeased at the situation. "Arlene!" I called out as I sat the boxes down on the wooden bar top and started to walk toward the pair.

"Sookie," Arlene almost growled at the same time that Eric stood behind her said, "Lover." Just like that my rather pleasant shift went all to hell.

"Do you know this vampire Sookie? Is he the _human_ _guy_ we were talking about yesterday?" Arlene had already reached a screeching pitch and she was refusing to turn around to look at me. She wasn't really a bad person and most of the time I still saw my friend shining through, she just hated vampires, again something that Bill had caused.

"Yes, I know him, now let him in, he's fine." I managed to restrain myself from saying safe because that wasn't necessarily true because he could be ferocious, and I don't think anyone would believe me just by looking at him. Tonight he was wearing deliciously tight black jeans with a matching black wife-beater style vest top underneath a, you guessed it, black leather jacket that looked wonderfully warm and soft. He was wearing motorbike boots, I could see part of a logo peeking out from under his jeans that could have been the Harley Davidson logo.

"Thank-you Sookie," Eric told me as he stepped around Arlene, never taking his eyes off of her as he came to my side. His hand strayed to my right hip, sliding along the small of my back to get there and he dropped a light kiss to my temple in greeting.

"Sookie, I thought you'd got over your vampire fad." Arlene knew perfectly well it wasn't any form of phase, she also knew about my telepathy but didn't like to acknowledge it; seemed like she was doing the same with my liking of vampires.

"What's going on in here?" Sam called out, striding down between the tables to reach us. Apart from the people sitting at the nearest tables that could actually hear our brief words, everyone had turned back to what they were doing before as far as I could tell.

"Sookie has brought _this_ thing into the bar, he shouldn't be here."

"This is a public establishment, I am free to enter as I please." Eric's tone was icy; if I was Arlene I'd be backing down rather quickly.

"Arlene, leave it alone. He's fine. Sookie did you invite him here?" This came from Sam who looked simply tired already at the entire situation, not that I could blame him.

"Well I refuse to serve you, you shouldn't even be here. I can't believe you let yourself be had by creatures like him Sookie, you need someone alive!" With that she turned around, so forcefully that her hair swung out behind her, and stormed back to her section in a huff where she remained.

"Did you invite him here Sookie? You know what people around here are like." Beside me I felt Eric stiffen at being ignored by a supernatural he deemed weaker than himself.

"No, I had no idea."

"She did not invite me. I need to speak to her regarding some vampire business. We shall use your office?" To give Eric credit he did enunciate his statement like a question, raising his tone ever so slightly at the end. Sam nodded, letting his messy head of strawberry blond waves fall in front of his eyes.

"Thanks Sam." I placed a hand on his shoulder and squeezed, showing my appreciation and ignoring the hand on my hip urging me away in what I could only guess was a jealous manner.

I didn't speak again until I got into the office with the door firmly shut and locked behind us. I sat in the visitor chair; it felt too weird to sit around the other side of the desk, the chair was simply Sam's. Surprisingly Eric didn't take the boss's chair like I'd expected choosing instead to perch on the edge of the desk directly in front of me, so close that if I leaned forward I would brush up against him. He was leaning forward quite a lot to make the height different between us less with his hands resting on the wood beside, barely gripping at all.

"I have been in touch with Sophie Anne, she has made it safely back into the United States you will be pleased to know." He grinned at me wickedly as though he knew my deepest, darkest thoughts on the queen even though I'd never told them to anyone. I could only assume that he had similar thoughts. Sitting this close to him I became acutely aware of his presence; the way his long hair, that really was as soft as it looked, was swept back behind his ears to keep it away from his face and the tense posture of his shoulders. I also noticed that he smelled incredibly good; the mix of vampire, masculinity and fresh laundry that I'd really come to love, so much so that I was purposefully taking deeper breaths than I needed.

"She arrived via Chicago airport early this evening on an Anubis Air flight and is taking a chauffeured car down to her home. She has taken my information to heart," I couldn't be sure but I thought I saw a little eye roll at the word heart; I had to agree, I wasn't entirely sure the Queen had one either. "She's collecting some essential items from her home in New Orleans before driving back up to her second home in St Louis."

"But won't the Fellowship expect that? That's her closest home to Dallas, Sam assumed it would be that one they attacked and I have to agree. It's just easier to get to." Once while I'd been on my way down to New Orleans to do some work for the Queen the little party I was with had stopped off at the Queen's St Louis home to gather some belongings that Sophie Anne had requested. It had been a rather small abode for her usual tastes and integrated into the main village, yet still much larger than the homes that surrounded it and I had to wonder why the people there let a vampire live among them. Of course I wouldn't have put it past the Queen to glamour every single one of them.

"Yes, but she would not listen to me further. She also wants to send you into the Fellowship offices in Dallas."

"What?" I asked, my voice more shrill than it should have been and accompanied by a sinking feeling that was threatening to take over my entire body.

"I told her it was a ridiculously shitty plan and that it was not going to work. Whether she listened to me, I do not know. I think she will definitely still try and involve you in her security."

"I knew it," I muttered with venom in my voice. Even not knowing that the information had come from me, even though I was just a part in the chain, she would involve me further since I was apparently nothing more than her puppet.

"I can try and keep you away from it but although I am more powerful than her, she is still the Queen. She has means to use that I can only dream of." I quirked my eyebrows at that; I couldn't imagine the queen having more power than Eric over anyone, I would definitely rather go up against her than the Viking. "She has a title and she isn't afraid to use what that means to vampires to reach her goal. To anyone the same age or younger than her, that is most of the vampires in our state, she is the most fearsome thing there is."

"What about you?"

"Most of them have not met me." He cracked a devilish grin at that, turning the expression almost into a snarl.

"So what do we do now?" I fiddled nervously with my apron, I'd never untied it from around my waist, scared about the answer he may have.

"Nothing, she has not given any direct orders. I will try again just before dawn to see if she will just stay in New Orleans or even stay with one of her sheriffs, not me, for awhile. I wanted to warn you that you may be hearing from one of her messengers soon. If that happens contact me immediately." He crouched down further, placing his hands on the arms of my chair so that his face was only a couple of inches away from mine with his eyes boring into me. "Promise me."

"I promise." He stayed in that position for a few seconds longer, taking in my sincerity and staring so hard that he didn't even blink, not that he really needed to. His eyes really were beautiful; I'd never had such an opportunity to gaze at them, they were pale blue, like how you always imagine the ocean and oh, so clear.

"Okay," he nodded his head once before he pulled back to return to his original position.

"Why did you come down here to talk to me about this?" We hadn't really discussed anything that couldn't have been sorted out over the phone and despite how much I liked seeing him; it would have saved me a lot of gossip.

"I needed to make sure you would promise, I had to see it in your eyes and I would not have been able to do this over the phone." I didn't get a chance to respond before he'd pulled me into a standing position, held tightly into him between his legs and his lips were on mine. His hands graced up my arms until he reached my neck where he pulled me in ever closer, winding his fingers into my hair. I melted into him, letting myself relax in his arms while I kissed him back, loving the way his tongue explored my mouth, dancing with my own.

I sighed quietly as we pulled apart, wishing I could continue to kiss him all night, but I knew I had to get back to work and when there's something like that hanging over your head it just isn't as fun. His hands gently stroked back the strands of hair that had fallen out of my high pony tail and he still held me in place, close to his body.

"Eric?" He didn't seem to be really focusing on the here and now, rather his eyes kept straying down to my lips; I knew if I didn't stop this soon I wouldn't be keeping to my mental promise to not kiss him all night.

"Mhmm?" He replied quietly, letting the sound vibrate deep.

"Am I danger?" Just like that the little spell he seemed to be under broke, to be fair I was pretty much under the same spell it was just that possible threats to my life, again, had a tendency to keep me clear headed.

"Not directly and not yet. If the Queen involves you in her security then yes, which is why I will be striving to make sure you are as far removed from her as possible." I grinned at that, I couldn't help myself; if he was going to try that hard to keep me safe I really must mean something more to him, rather than just another fangbanger. "I don't see why the Fellowship would target you; I doubt they know who you are." He leaned in and kissed me again, his soft lips lingering for a little longer than could be considered chaste before he pulled back completely, relaxing his grip around me too. "Get back to work Lover," he chastised; the small smile across his lips telling me he was teasing and the pat on my bottom as I spun around just adding to my knowledge.

I'd hardly taken a step outside of the door when I almost literally ran into Sam who looked too guilty to have really been just on his way back from the restroom. I didn't say anything. I widened my eyes slightly and walked past him, shaking my head slowly. "I'm going to go speak to Eric before he goes!" Sam called out behind, although I couldn't understand why he was telling me. Eric hadn't actually said whether he was staying any longer, I just assumed he would be leaving to get back to Fangtasia.

I shouldn't have rushed to get back to work; the gossip that hadn't really been present before had returned tenfold when I stepped back out into the bar and I could feel Arlene's eyes on me from across the room. One improvement was that no one actually said anything to me; they were all too scared in case the big bad vampire was still in Merlotte's since they hadn't seen him leave. If anyone had said anything I would have just told them he was still in Sam's office, which was the truth, both of them remained in there for another hour, which shut the patrons up.

I was quite surprised when I turned around later, a tray full of empty glasses balanced somewhat precariously, to find Eric sitting at the bar. I hadn't even noticed that he'd left the office, probably because Sam, whose brain pattern I could easily recognise, was still in other room. Smiling, I walked to the bar, set my tray down next to the sink and turned round to get Eric whatever drink he wanted.

"What would you like?" A blush spread across my cheeks when I caught his eyes straying down to my neck before he replied.

"Bottle of AB negative please." I couldn't believe he'd added the please onto the end; I wasn't entirely sure I'd heard him say the word at all before now.

"Coming right up," I replied pleasantly. We actually stocked that blood type, even though it was quite rare. There had been a long time when we just ordered in whatever crate Bill preferred since he was the only one around here to drink the stuff; now it was a mixed crate, Sam said it was because it was cheaper, I chose to believe it was because at some point every few weeks Bill would be forced to drink something he didn't particularly like. "Here ya go," I said, placing the drink down in front of him and my fingertips grazed his as he reached across the bar for the bottle at the same time.

I never actually got a chance to speak to Eric properly until the end of my shift. "Wonderful," I whispered sarcastically when I saw Jane Bodehouse practically draped over _my_ vampire.

"So what you doin' with crazy old Sookie?" Her words were getting quite slurred so it was obvious her poor son was going to have to come down and collect her again.

"I'm not interested," Eric responded monotonously, taking another swig of his second synthetic blood. My heart sunk for a split second, until I realised that he was talking to Jane. Seeing her dejected yet still determined expression definitely helped ease my mind too. He was telling her, rather politely, that he wasn't interested in her.

"Oh come on, I got more experience than her. You can introduce me to the vampire way." She giggled uncontrollably at her words, no doubt thinking that she was being clever. It was no secret to anyone around here that Jane got disgustingly horny when she was drunk.

"I said, I'm not interested." This time there was a definitive growling edge to his words and I could see from halfway across the room that his fangs had elongated. I hightailed it across the room as quickly as my tired, aching feet could carry me to hopefully diffuse the tension before it became a situation.

"Would you like a refill Jane?" It was playing with fire, allowing her to get that drunk and even while I was asking her, I was signalling to Sam that he needed to make the usual phone call.

"Ooh, double jack and coke," she almost squealed, her eyes lighting up. It didn't take very long to make the drink and I made sure it was the last job I was doing for the evening. "Sam, I'm done for the night, am I okay to go?"

"Sure Chere, have a good night tomorrow." I couldn't believe that Sam was actually saying that to me with what appeared to be a genuine tone; something must have been exchanged between him and Eric in that office, I also had a feeling I really didn't want to know about it. He briefly glanced up at me as well, pausing from dialling on the bar's staff phone.

"What time are you picking me up tomorrow?" We'd already spent half of the journey back to my house in comfortable silence; I had no idea what he was thinking about but I was patting myself on the back for swapping my tiny, old car for a new, to me at least, car a couple of months ago. Eric already looked too cramped, in the passenger seat beside me, of my nice saloon car; I doubted he would have even fit inside my other one.

"About six, allow twenty minutes after sunset for me to travel."

"I can drive over to Shreveport if you want, save you coming out all the way here just to go back, and again later." He didn't actually respond, I could just feel his stare boring into the side of my head as he deemed my offer too silly for a response. I should have known; if vampires wanted something they usually just asked, or ordered and they never did anything they didn't want to when concerning humans.

"Why are you driving with me now?" I'd managed until the turn onto Hummingbird road to ask the question, at that point it was just puzzling me too much.

"I need to pay a visit to our dear Mr Compton who just so happens to live across the cemetery from you." Whatever I had been expecting it certainly hadn't been that.

"Why the hell are you going to talk to Bill?"

"Sam mentioned that Bill had apparently been spreading some rumours, gossip, about us, in particular you. I want to give him my opinion on the matter." He was way too vague for anything good.

"What are you going to do?" I replied, quite excitedly, even though the Christian part of me, sadly that part seemed to be getting smaller with every passing month, was already regretting even thinking that line with such joy.

"He will live, sadly I don't have enough justification for killing him. You will not want to know the details." When a vampire says something like that you just believe them and so I let it go. However I couldn't wipe the stupid smile from my face at the thought of Bill getting a real comeuppance.

Just after I'd parked the car round the back of my house I found the both of us standing just inside the illuminated circle created by the security lights. The bright, fluorescence made Eric cast strange shadows with his sheer size, creating rather an intimidating effect through I still felt safe in his presence. "I'll see you tomorrow?" I couldn't quite keep the question out of my voice.

"Yes lover." He spoke my nickname like a caress and I sighed happily; so much for keeping myself cautious and protecting my heart with him. The next thing I knew he was kissing me, softly brushing his lips against mine; not nearly enough. I melted against him, hands on his chest, one resting over where his heart was, if he'd been human I would have been feeling it beat.

"Goodnight," I whispered against his lips, feeling him smile. By the time I opened my eyes he'd disappeared silently into the night.

"So Gran, what do you think?" I finished popping in my white gold earrings and then did a little spin for her in the living room, letting my dress float a little just for fun. It was about five to six and to say I was a tad nervous would be a major understatement; I'd tried on three outfits before settling on one and I'd been glancing at the clock approximately every thirty seconds for the past one hour and forty three minutes.

"You look beautiful Sookie." She actually put down her sewing, switched the television off then stood up to give me a big hug, her arms wrapping around my waist tightly. "What are you going to be doing tonight?"

"I'm not really sure, we have to go to Fangtasia for a little while but after that I really don't know." She settled back down on the sofa and I grabbed my bag, slipping it over my shoulder so I didn't have to hold it in place.

"What time will you be back?" There was a suspicious tone to her voice and she was staring at me, her eyes wide to detect even the barest hint of a lie.

"I don't know Gran; I imagine it will be very early in the morning." She nodded, finally turning away and letting my breath; I was pretty sure she knew I wasn't innocent, I'd had sleepovers with Bill before but, thank God, she'd never mentioned anything about it. She wouldn't approve of me staying over at Eric's tonight although I had a feeling that was the intended climax to the evening, pun completely intended, and I had to agree that's what I wanted to happen too.

Luckily for me, saving me from the possibility of anymore awkward questions, there was a knock on the front door and the mental blankness that I discovered there told me that it was Eric standing on the porch. I quickly exited the room and opened the door to find my rather dashing vampire standing there calmly, looking perfectly at home and looking exceedingly gorgeous as per usual. Tonight he was even more stereotypical vampire than I'd seen him; black shirt, black tight fitting jeans tucked into leather boots, motorbike jacket with his hair slicked back although I couldn't see any evidence of product. Okay, so it wasn't really that much different to what he normally wore yet there was still something different about him that just screamed vampire; you'd never be able to pass him on the street and think he was human.

"Good evening lover, I trust that you are well." He stepped toward the threshold, pausing briefly just before he crossed over to grab my hand and bring it to his lips where he brushed a kiss across my knuckles. "You look beautiful." There was a slight throat clearing sound beside me. "Ah Mrs Stackhouse, you look lovely also. Are you having a good evening?" Eric was turning on the charm, something that he didn't really need to do since I already knew for a fact that my Gran liked him; she thought he was good for me and she'd seen nothing about him during their meeting that gave her even an inkling of doubt.

"Oh thank-you. What are you kids doing tonight?" She knew exactly what she'd said, I could tell due to the wicked smile gracing her face. It didn't pass over Eric either who grinned back at her before responding.

"We're going to my bar Fangtasia for a little while and then it's out for a meal, and then I have a surprise planned. Nothing too fancy."

"What time will you have her back?" There was no point in trying to just leave since there was a giant of a Viking blocking the doorway but it didn't stop me from edging closer to freedom.

"During the early hours, the surprise will not end until late and then there is the drive to consider. I will make sure that she gets back safe and sound, no need to worry." He flashed her another disarming grin and thankfully my Gran nodded before she started waving her hands, shooing us both out of the door.

"Have a good night then, see you both later." I just hoped that didn't mean she was going to be waiting up for me.

The ride over to Fangtasia was spent mostly in silence, albeit a comfortable one; we listened to the stereo in the car which seemed to be hooked up to an iPod that was on shuffle and filled the rest of the time with small questions. We simply didn't have anything of great importance to speak about apparently and if I was honest I still hadn't calmed down completely. It was ridiculous; I'd been on a couple of dates with him before. There was the first date when he'd taken me to the Globe followed by the London Eye then of course there was going to the British Museum; that latter one may have not technically been a date but it involved lots of interesting fact finding and a meal so I was counting it.

"What car is this?" I was useless with cars but even I could appreciate that this was a very nice vehicle with extra emphasis on nice.

"A Maserati Quattroporte-S, one of my current favourites. Do you like it?"

"It looks very nice; I honestly can't give an opinion above that." He chuckled a little at that and let his hand drop from the steering wheel to brush against my bare knee. I was wearing a cute black dress with silver detailing around the edges; it had a slight A-line, emphasising my waist and the length was long enough for me to be comfortable and appropriate for most situations. "So what's the surprise?"

"Well, if I told you it would break the definition of a surprise."

"I don't like surprises; I tend to end up on the bad end of them." It had all started on my sweet sixteenth; Jason had tried making me a new chest of drawers as a surprise and he'd ended up in the emergency room needing sixteen stitches from where he'd fallen after cutting himself on a saw.

"I promise you will like it. Just trust me."

"Okay." We had pulled into the car park at Fangtasia now, driving straight into an empty space directly opposite the staff door that I had always used when I'd been here before. "What exactly are we doing here?"

"It is my designated night to man the floor; we need to sit at a booth for a couple of hours. All the vampires under my area are required, unless they are truly mainstreaming, to do so for a set amount of time each week. I find I get the best loyalty out of them if I do the same but it also means sticking to a schedule. With us being in England for so long I have already missed a couple of my slots." He turned the growling engine off and he was opening my door for me before I could even think about opening it myself.

As I'd anticipated we went straight for the staff door and into cool, quiet back corridor of Fangtasia that was as far removed from the bustling front that you could get within one building. There were no vampire memorabilia adorning the walls and the jet black, grey and crimson had given way to more neutral creams and a carpeted floor in place of tiles. There were several doors leading off of the corridor, some of which I recognised as the private restrooms, store rooms, Eric's office and judging by the elegant sign on the door, Pam's new office while a couple of plain wooden doors remained a mystery.

"Pam is on the floor as well tonight," Eric informed me as we walked, my hand was gripping his forearm lightly, toward the sound proofed door that cut off this relative sanctuary from the blaring noise of the bar itself.

"Oh," was all I got a chance to respond with before the door opened and we were sucked into the gothic world of Fangbangers, tourists and vampires playing dress up.

Although it was quite early the bar was already packed, undoubtedly due to it being a weekend, we managed to obtain a booth near the front where patrons would be able to see us as soon they walked in. I'd only just sat down when there was a waitress standing beside me, already waiting to take my order; I guess being the companion of the boss had its benefits although judging by the scowl she was giving me, there were also some downsides.

"What do you want?" Her tone was surprisingly friendly despite the rather rude wording of her question. A blatant stare from Eric later, which significantly improved her mood just from the attention he gave her; she added a bright smile and wiped the scowl from her rather pretty face.

"Gin and tonic please." Eric dismissed her with a flick of his hand, indicating that he didn't require anything but his usual drink, which left us as alone as we were ever going to be in the crowded room. "I've got to ask; do you actually use the throne?" I pointed, even though I was sure he knew what I meant, to the ornate gold hued wooden throne in the corner of the room, near the dance floor that was padded in a regal red material for comfort.

"Yes." He didn't look embarrassed in the slightest and he answered me easily.

"Why? Don't you find it a little pretentious?"

"No, this is my bar, Pam does own a small percentage, and I am owner of all in here. It works well for the tourists too; people want to see a vampire, I give them the big bad vampire." He shrugged his shoulders, making the muscles that I could see quiver with the effort.

"Are you really the big bad vampire?" I knew I wasn't going to get an honest answer out of him but I couldn't stop myself from asking anyway. He just stared at me blankly in response, precisely what I'd anticipated really, and I decided right then that there really was much more to him beneath the surface. He knew it too, he may not like to admit that there was even a hint of a softer side to him but there really was. The really important question was how big the soft side was and how deeply buried it was.

"What do you think of Fangtasia?" The waitress had just placed our drinks down in front of us and he was now leaning over the table, his hands inches from mine and the glint in his eyes telling me that he was planning something. I wasn't at all worried; I had a distinct feeling that I would like whatever scheme he had in mind.

"Oddly enough, I like it." I glanced around the room again, taking in the sights, and debated about the truth behind my statement. Although the music was too loud, there were bodies pressed up against bodies everywhere, you could see the atmosphere was still good; everyone here wanted to have a good time and it was actually quite contagious. "Not exactly my cup of tea but quite good." I took my first sip of my drink to stop myself from rambling on any further.

I couldn't tell you what we actually talked about for the next twenty minutes apart from to tell you that we never shut up; I felt like we were on a true date where everything gets discussed, even the most trivial points such as the weather. Eric actually found the weather a fascinating thing as he never actually got to see the daytime there was a lot less variation at night and of course, temperatures didn't really affect him the same way.

"Would you like to dance?" The question utterly surprised me and I found myself nodding back positively, unable to actually form a verbal reply. He didn't seem like the dancing sort although, like every other vampire I'd seen, he had an inner grace that could never be matched by a human.

"I'd love to." A smile spread across my face and less than a second after I'd agreed he'd taken my hand in his much larger one to lead me across the room to the dance floor where I was instantly wrapped up in my vampire.

The song wasn't one that I would have normally chosen to dance to but it really did have a good rhythm; I could feel it pounding through my body and I instinctively began to move. I could dance. I wasn't being big headed about it, I'll be honest and say I can't sing in key or time properly to save my life, but I can definitely hold my own when it comes to dancing.

His hands worked their way over my body until he finally settled on holding me flush against him with one on hand on my hip while the other was pressed into the small of my back, keeping me in place tightly. I leant into him, as much as movement would allow and it felt wonderful to be pushed up against him, not caring about anyone else surrounding us. I could feel eyes watching us and the jealous waves I was getting from several women, and men actually, didn't faze me at all, because I could feel his reaction to _me_, not anyone else.

"Lover," he whispered in my ear, letting his fair fall forward to create a sort of curtain around the two, making the moment look even more intimate than it was. "You smell delicious," he added with a nip of his teeth on the sensitive skin of my neck just to drive his point home. "You feel," he didn't actually finish his sentence, instead he just growled slightly and gave a sharp tug with his hands, letting me know the extent of his reaction of having me like that. I was beginning to be short of breath, there was sex in the air, like there always is at a vampire bar, and it was slightly intoxicating. I couldn't keep my hands off my vampire and it apparently didn't take much to get either of us going.

Leaving one hand gripping his waist dangerously low, almost as though I was going to cup his ass at any moment, my other hand trailed up to wind into his hair. I used my leverage immediately and pulled as hard as I dared until his head was low enough for me to kiss his lips. It wasn't what I went for though; teasingly I planted an open mouthed kiss on his neck, pressing down in the way that he was so fond of. I was getting ridiculously warm, even with his cool body against mine. The air around us was charged and the bodies surrounding were generating heat, I couldn't help but sweat, even to the extent where I could feel the odd bead running down my chest.

Our actions were bordering on obscene; I just couldn't bring myself to care, especially the way we were managing to move to the beat, creating some delicious friction. I didn't want to be on the dance floor anymore.

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**So what did you think? You know i love feedback almost as much as i love a certain viking vampire :) **

**The title this weeks comes from the Madina Lake song Pandora, **

**"The way you dance it turns me, ...**

**the way your sweat drips off your chest, **

**you know that i'm wanting more."**

**Also wanted to say a big thank-you to everyone that's been reviewing, it makes my day when i get an email through about them. So, until next week, *hugs*  
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	15. Heart's Done Time

**Hey guys, **

**How are you all? I'm doing very well although I'm immensely tired. I'm at home and I got a 70% on the exam I had last week which is brilliant. I want to apologise for this chapter, I finished it approximately five minutes ago and as such it has not been betad. This is entirely my fault but real life got in the way; essay writing and moving back up North for a month had its trials. I would still like to give a very big thank-you to my wonderful betas campyrs and trajedy99. I'm sure after reading this you'll appreciate the wonderful work they do but I thought you might also want this chapter tonight. Also, sorry to everyone that sent a review; I know i haven't replied yet but i will do. Promise!  
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**Charlaine Harris owns the wonderful Southern Vampires Mysteries. **

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"Office," he growled out deliciously low with his lips brushing my ear so that tingles ran across my skin. I couldn't make my mind up whether it was a question or a command; I wasn't bothered either way since I couldn't think of a better prospect at the minute.

"Office," I replied back just before I crushed my lips back against his.

"Hmhmm," a woman coughed, clearing her throat to get our attention and even tapping my shoulder for good measure. I assumed it was a Fangbanger that had simply had enough and so chose to ignore the interruption until Eric pulled back, a menacing snarl on his lips.

"Ah, so you are capable of thoughts still." I recognised Pam's drawl and allowed myself to pull back as well so that our torsos were no longer pressed together. "Sookie, a girl could get jealous if you continue to do this with him." She even added a flick of her head in Eric's direction as though I wouldn't know of whom she was referring. Finally a blush spread across my cheeks.

"Pam, this better be fucking good." He snapped every world at her, hissing and practically gnashing his teeth. His volume was loud enough for the few remaining humans that hadn't already been staring at us to turn around to look.

"Do I have a death wish?" She rolled her eyes when he just continued to stare at her. I could feel the tension, anger thrumming through his body. Pam huffed out a breath she didn't need before continuing on, "Sophie Anne is on the phone."

"And?" The pressure his grasp was exerting on my hip was beginning to become painful yet he managed to realise before I could say anything. His strength was scary; he would be able to snap me in half easily without putting in much effort at all.

"She wants to speak to you, she said something about changing her mind."

"Fine." I didn't even get a chance to think about what I would do while he was on the phone. His hand that had been on my hip reached for my hand to pull me after him. The crowd parted for us like we repelled them. I couldn't blame them for scurrying out of the way; it was a good survival instinct to get out of the path of a raging vampire. His fangs were still elongated but for an entirely different reason; there wasn't a better mood killer for either of us.

I was practically jogging to keep up with his long strides when we finally burst into his office. I wasn't entirely sure how he knew exactly where he needed to go since Pam hadn't given any instructions. The door was slammed shut behind us with so much force I half expected it to shatter, as it was the thud echoed around the vast office.

"What?" He growled into the phone while he sank down into chair, leaving me to do what I pleased. Glancing around I found that my options were rather limited; there was nothing for a human to do, so I took what appeared to be the comfiest seat available and sat down in Eric's lap. I ended up sat on one of his thighs with my legs over his over leg so that I could curl into his chest. Immediately his free arm looped both protectively and possessively around my waist to pull me in tighter so that he could take a deep whiff of my hair. I presumed it was to try and keep a grip, no matter how meagre it was, on his temper.

"You should speak to me with the respect I deserve." The Queen was angry too, except over the phone she sounded more like a petulant toddler which reduced her intimidation somewhat, especially since I was on the other end with a much scarier prospect. Although Eric's behaviour was a rather large juxtaposition; he was a snarling beast of vampire that was hugging me rather pleasantly while he did so. When my vampire only growled in response the Queen continued. "Why do you say I need to go to New Orleans?"

"You have better protection there. You have all your resources at hand. I have been through this with you before. What do you really want?" My ear was pressed against his upper chest and I could feel his deep voice vibrating.

"I need Sookie here." I literally felt the tension flood his body even more, stiffening every muscle and eliciting another growl that was so deep it was barely audible to me.

"Why?"

"I need security here and having a telepath would be very helpful. You know this Eric. Tell me you wouldn't use her powers for your own selfish needs?"

"I never said I would not." I had expected as much since he was a vampire and it was part of the definition to have an ego to match the title and they tended to collect people with powers like some women collected shoes. It did carry a sting that he might use me like seemingly every other vampire I'd encountered. "But you should know, the fairer you are with people the happier they are to carry out work. You get better results." He gave my forehead a little peck, there was more force behind so I couldn't exactly consider it sweet but I certainly appreciated the gesture. His words also backed up what I'd heard from Pam before; Eric was not to be crossed and you obeyed him without question, unless of course you were Pam, however he was fair to all his employees and it showed in the success of his Area.

"Eric, as Queen as I demand protection. You say there's a very real threat. If you send her I'll go to New Orleans." This wasn't the behaviour of a Queen, this wouldn't put faith of anyone in their leader. Bribery however did seem to be a running trait of vampire monarchy.

"Sookie is in my Area, so she belongs to me. Go to New Orleans, she will be waiting by tomorrow night." He hung up then before the Queen could say anything else. The damage to me had already been done; my heart was thumping frantically, I'd started sweating from panic and I'd felt the blood drain from my face.

"What?" I whispered quietly as I pulled back away from. I didn't get far due to his arm still latched around my waist.

"If I claim you as mine you are somewhat safer from her clutches. If you belong to Area 5 it means she has to go through me to get permission to use your telepathy. I am not going to give her such permission."

"Do you really think of me as your possession?" My words didn't carry quite as much weight as I wanted considering I was still plastered in place against his chest. I would have preferred to be staring straight at him so I could gauge the honesty of his response.

"No." He chuckled slightly obviously having sensed my disbelief at his response. "Everything in me tells me that you are mine but I have a very good survival streak and that tells me you are not. As long as everyone else believes you are mine it is good enough." His response was very blunt but it held the sharp sting that true honesty usually carried. I believed him.

"Do I have to go to New Orleans?"

"No." Relief flooded through my body and I even left out a massive sigh of breath that I hadn't even realised I'd been holding. "I'll send Thalia, she has been rather annoying lately and she can handle a fight."

"Is she actually older than you?" I remembered the first time I'd seen her. Thalia was tiny, much smaller than me in all ways, and her pale ivory skin was accentuated with the rippling jet black curls of her hair. I'd known she was ancient as soon as I'd seen her, even Pam didn't know exactly how old she was and I'd never dared to ask. Some vampires didn't mind telling you how old they were where as with others it was worse than asking a woman how old she really is.

"No, there's just under fifty years between us so it is close, especially when we get to this old. Our power is nearly evenly matched except she cannot fly and I cannot simply move as fast as she. I am stronger, much stronger." Now that I knew I wasn't going to be forced into security duty for the Queen, at least not yet, it was much easier to think. "I think we should go, Pam can handle the bar for the rest of the night." He paused here for several seconds, not moving as though he'd slipped into the down time that vampires are capable of when they are impossibly still. Slowly I felt the tension leaving his body as the seconds ebbed by; his muscles relaxed slightly and his grip around my waist became softer, as though he was only cradling me to his side not pressing me down. "Come on lover." As quick as it had occurred he awoke and when I glanced up at his face I found his fangs had retracted while the sparkle that made his eyes shine had returned.

He kept up the secret all the way to our destination, which turned out to only be about fifteen minutes drive away from Fangtasia though I couldn't have told you where about in Shreveport we were. We parked his impressive car in a multi-storey car park that actually had security guards to protect the lavish cars which seemed to be the only occupiers of the space.

"We are here." I was startled by his statement since we'd only just reached the doors that lead out onto the street from the stair case of the parking lot. Glancing around I found tall buildings on either side of us with bright lights adorning most of the walls. People were milling around everywhere, all of them appeared to be happy judging by the broad smiles on every face and the wave of joy that hit me even through my shields.

"Where exactly is here?" We were in the theatre district, not that I'd ever actually been before, of Shreveport which meant that on one street there were about four theatres and another one that only opened during the summer months.

"This one on the right," he nodded towards the first building on the right which had the largest group of people standing outside. Only one door to the theatre was actually open and no one was meandering through it yet. "Comedy night." I burst out laughing as soon as the words had left his lips. Vampires weren't known for their sense of humour and Eric's, although he did have one, didn't seem to be present all of the time, so being taken to a comedy club night by a vampire was a little odd to put it mildly. "I thought you would like it." He huffed and the slight creasing around his eyes told me that I'd upset him by my reaction.

"I'm sorry, I really didn't mean to laugh." At least not the in the mean way that it had sounded; it was happy laughter not making a joke out of him. "I just really didn't expect this." I leaned up and kissed his cheek, at least that was what I was aiming for. At the last possible second he turned his head so that our lips met in a gorgeous yet rather chaste kiss that left me wanting more yet again. "Thank-you." He let my laughter go ad slid his around my shoulders so that he could pull me snugly into his side, letting every person around us know that I was with him.

I was quietly very pleased with my choice of attire; the dress was smart and alternative enough for me to look suited for Fangtasia as the owner's guest and I wasn't too dressed up for a comedy night either, especially since it was held in a theatre. Luckily for me since my man didn't have body heat and the night was rather chilly, the doors opened only a couple of minutes after we arrived.

The foyer was delightfully warm and grand with the winding staircases at either side that led up into the circles while the stairs leading slightly down in front of us were to the stalls. Along the sides of the room were bars of different specialities ranging from soft drinks, ales to cocktails and even one that sold nothing but bottled blood for the undead. Eric's arm never wavered from its place around me as we navigated through the crowd to get him a bottle of blood first before wandering over to the cocktail bar for me.

"One Viking Blood." He grinned at the bar tender, showing fang, which was just enough to intimidate the man into rushing the drink to have it ready for me before even asking anyone else what they wanted.

"Would you like anything else?"

"No thank-you," I replied, smiling at the bartender myself to try and settle his nerves a little. I didn't even bother trying to persuade Eric to let me pay for my own drink; it wasn't going to work so I might as well save my breath. "How do you know I'll like this?" I asked, staring cautiously at the deep red liquid in the small glass, as I was guided to our seats.

"Trust me." I waited until we'd sat down, about seven rows back from the front and right in the middle, the perfect distance from the stage for a brilliant view. I briefly felt bad for anyone sat behind us as they wouldn't be able to see over the giant that was Eric but I quickly wiped the thought from my mind. Eric took a swig from his own drink, a slight grimace crossed his face at the taste, before it was smoothed away. He nodded towards me, indicating my drink and I raised my glass to my lips to take a tentative sip. It was actually much nicer than I'd anticipated, rather sweet actually, with a definite kick that told me it wouldn't take many of these to get me tipsy.

"Are you trying to get me drunk?" I grinned at him and was pleased to find his face lit up as he chuckled loudly at my comment. "It's actually quite good, I like it."

"Do I really need to get you drunk?" He leaned in to whisper into my ear, once again letting his lips and breath. I blushed instantly at his words, knowing that the answer wasn't going to be that he needed me drunk, although I would never verbalise any answer to his question in public. "So I am correct." He grinned at me again for a second before kissing me, making sure to run his tongue across my lips so that he could pick up any leftover traces of the sip of the drink I'd taken.

"I didn't think you liked food?" I was puzzled by his actions. Out of any vampire I'd met he had the greatest tolerance for food but I wouldn't exactly say he sought it out to be in a position of close proximity with human food.

"I don't. There is a big difference between a fine drink and food. Alcohol I happen to like in very small doses. In the blood it is exquisite." Perhaps they should have vampire cops performing blood alcohol content tests; just a drop of blood and they could tell how much you'd have. Of course, if you had too much alcohol you were probably at risk of getting drained if they didn't have good enough control over their urges. It would be a very nice deterrent to drunk drivers. I didn't get a chance to ponder that possibility any further due to the first comedian of the night prancing onto the stage, earning a giggle from me right from the start.

It was nearly three hours later when the final curtain closed and the lights went back up, signalling the end of the show. Over the course of the evening my abs and cheek muscles had been used so much that they were continuously aching, my face had become streaked through laughter tears and I'd managed to consume another two Viking Blood cocktails.

"That was brilliant, thank-you." I kissed him again in thanks, this time actually managing to place my lips on his cheek. "What are we doing now?" It was my polite way of seeing whether food was on the menu, quite literally, in the near future as my stomach had been protesting for the last hour at the lack of food it contained.

"Take out or a meal out." I glanced at the time and saw that it was nearing eleven at night.

I didn't really know why but I had a rather strong craving for a delicious treat. "Pancakes sound wonderful right now. Let me just phone my Gran, if I let her know what's happening she won't worry so much later." We had reached the main doors to the theatre and a gust of cold wind greeted me as I stepped out of the warmth. "Oh golly," I whispered as I hunkered down in my jacket with my arms wrapped around my chest to try and keep the cold out. Eric could block the wind and try as he was he simply couldn't keep me any warmer with his presence. "Wait a second." I noticed valet personnel handing car keys back over to customers and a couple more actually bringing cars around to the front. "Why didn't you just use the valet service?" According to their sign it only cost five dollars so it wasn't going to be a money issue.

"I tried it once back when it was first available; the young man bumped my car in nerves against a metal pole that designated the parking space. No one damages my car."

"Do I want to know what happened to the guy?"

"No." I shook my head to clear the disturbing thoughts that were running through my mind of all the atrocities that could have befallen the guy. Once we were in the car I finally searched for my phone as I dared to remove my arms from around my chest. Eric blasted the heat through the vents, even switching on the seat heaters even though the cold wasn't bothering him in the slightest.

"I have a problem," I started out while systematically emptying out the small purse I was carrying with me. My search didn't take very long, it was only large enough to contain my phone, wallet, a little packet of tissues and a touch of make-up in case I had any mishaps. "I don't have my phone."

"Here." Eric smoothly grabbed his phone out of the inside pocket of his jacket before handing it over to me, never having to take his eyes off of the road.

"Thanks but I still need to find my phone. Just a second." I cautiously opened up his blackberry, trying as I went along how to work the damn thing. Vampires couldn't really use iphones due to the heat technology that detected when you were using, them being room temperature meant they were completely useless. Companies were working on a technology that would detect a vampire but it was still in the early stages and the prototypes were apparently rubbish, which was according to Pam. Eventually I managed to dial and call my Gran, letting her know we would be getting some food before I headed home.

"Where did you have it last?"

"The bar, I used it to check the time, I don't think I used it after that."

"Then we will go back to the bar." He turned into a parking lot to spin around, barely slowing down and I happened to notice the car never got below third gear during the entire manoeuvre. "Would you prefer to get a takeout or go out for a meal now?" We were closer to the bar than I'd realised; the turning was just up ahead.

"Take out is fine, there's a Chinese place in the same complex I can go there." I'd actually been to this place before and they had wonderful noodles that tasted so good I could probably eat them on their own.

So it was five minutes later, with takeout carton in hand and a glass of wine from the bar in the other that I walked back into Eric's office. We'd already asked the few remaining staff, there was only about another hour and a half until last orders, if they'd seen anything. They hadn't although lost property didn't usually get noticed until the bar closed. I had another two hours to wait to see if my phone turned up. I'd tried the old reliable method of calling it with no luck; it was impossible to hear a muted ring tone above the din of the music.

"Well, we have two hours to pass." Eric was lounging in the office chair behind his desk. His black jacket had been placed inside a cabinet which left his arms bare so that every time he moved I could see muscles rippling under the skin. Classic rock music was playing in the background from the stereo mounted on the wall above the filing cabinets.

"Pam said you had your own blood store in here." I lifted the hand that held the glass carefully, it was rather full, indicating that I hadn't just left him out when getting my own refreshment.

"I do." As if on cue there was an electronic beeping and Eric opened up the smallest of the cabinets that was resting against the wall to reveal a mini refrigerator and a microwave, which had been the beeping appliance. Inside was a bottle of synthetic blood, a rare blood group, that had been warmed perfectly to body temperature.

"I've never seen you drink as much synthetic blood as I have tonight. Do you like it?"

He sighed before answering, showing how truly bored with the drink he was. "Sadly you get used to it. I find the rarer the blood group you drink the better the flavour, of course it is no substitute for the real thing." That reminded me of a question that had been plaguing my thoughts recently; was he drinking from other people, was he having sex with other people? Well, okay, that's two questions but with vampires the two main lusts for them became so intermingled it was difficult to actually separate them. "Something is wrong." Eric stated intuitively with his eyes fixed on my face as though he was trying to read me.

"There's something I need to ask you." I started out, occupying myself so that I didn't have to look at him by setting my stuff down on the little coffee table that was beside the couch. His office could be split in half and you'd never know that they belonged together; half was pure business with the imposing desk, high backed office chair and cabinets upon cabinets. The other half was more comfortable spare room with the leather sofa that had a black velvet throw that had deep red accents throughout. The coffee table was a nice addition, old fashioned wood and it had a look that said it could survive anything. In fact that seemed to be the common trait in the room; everything looked as though it could withstand the test of time.

"Lover, tell me." His voice was taking on a commanding lilt although he kept his tone soft enough not to pressure me.

"I think I'm just going to blurt this out otherwise I won't say it at all." This time I opened up the food container and even stuffed some noodles into my mouth so that I had more time to pluck up some courage. The gulp of wine that I took after probably helped too. "Are you having sex with other people? Are you taking blood from other people? The other night when you were busy, I've been having thoughts." I stole a quick glance up at him. His expression was stony, completely unreadable. Immediately I went back to my food to keep my mind occupied.

"The night you called I was in a meeting with suppliers; there was a new manager that had refused to supply stock to Fangtasia due to the amount of blood ordered, until they had inspected the premises and spoken to the owner."

"What?" I quickly swallowed the food in my mouth so I could speak clearly.

"An idiotic new manager thought that we were breaking some form of law here and was worried about his new job." He waved his hand dismissively. He was right; this wasn't the important factor. "I have not had sex with anyone but you since I arrived in London." I didn't like that he was working backward through my questions, it was leading me to believe that there would be something that I really wouldn't like. "I have taken blood from others."

"I'm not sure about this, but who?"

"Sookie." It was a very good choice of his not to use my pet name. "You do not want to know specifics, just know that they meant nothing and were willing. It has only happened once since I first took your blood properly. I need real blood and I cannot take everything from you." I nodded slowly. His words were true, I wasn't at a stage yet where I was willing to be his food source on a nightly basis even though by his age he would only need a sip to keep him strong. As cliché as his statement that the donors meant nothing to him, I believed him. He was a vampire, it was completely probable that the people he took blood from on random occasions meant nothing to him. "Sookie, what do you want from me?"

"I don't know. I can't handle you sleeping you with anyone else." I knew that it was a basic nature of a vampire to take blood, they needed it to survive like we needed food but sex wasn't necessary although many of them seemed to feel like it was a basic need.

"Okay." Just like that I had his word and I felt immensely better. I didn't dare bring up the blood thing yet.

I ate the rest of my meal in silence. Unlike the others we'd shared which had been comfortable, this one was filling the air, creating distance between us. I could feel his eyes on me, taking in every detail. "What?" I asked quietly as I shifted uncomfortably in my seat.

"I need you to know something." I took another sip of wine, leaving only a little left in the glass, to finish off my meal. He stood up from his seat behind the desk and wandered over to me. Inexplicably I shuffled back in my seat, almost as though I was moving away from him. He walked slowly forward, keeping every motion smooth. Kneeling down in front of me, he brought our eyes to nearly the same level, close enough that his chest almost brushed my knees.

"Hm?" It was the most eloquent response I could muster there was such a conflicting array of emotions playing inside of me. He was being faithful in his own way, he treated me wonderfully and made me feel special and yet it still bothered me in the deepest way that there was something between us. It was almost absurd, we really hadn't known each other for very long.

He threaded his hands through my hair, using his thumbs to sweep back the pale blond strands that weren't tucked behind my ears, to leave my face bare. "You are special." It was all that I needed to hear. A small smile flickered across my face and the tension that had built dissipated nearly as quickly as it had arrived. It was a big deal coming from the Viking; he wasn't exactly open with his more human emotions. He was truly saying and showing me how much I already meant to him. It was more than I could have hoped for.

My hands reached up to mirror his, resting against the side his face so I could feel the slight scratching of barely there stubble against my palms. His blue eyes were sparkling, intense as he stared right back at me. He moved slowly, giving me the chance to pull back if I wanted to; I wanted nothing more than for him to kiss. Eventually, with his eyes open until the last possible second, his lips connected to mine. In that moment I felt like it was just us two and I knew there was no going back.

"Lover," he whispered against my lips. I eased myself backward against the back of the sofa, pulling my vampire with me so that our lips never parted. His hands began to wander down my neck to my shoulders, where he kneaded the remaining tension from my muscles.

"Eric." I moaned when I pulled back enough so that I could actually take a gulp of much needed oxygen. His hands slid further down my body to the top of the bodice of my dress, working around the top until he found the zipper running down the right hand side. Before I knew what was happening I'd lifted my hips up from the cushion so he could slide the black material from my body, leaving me clad in only my lingerie.

"Take control." He commanded softly, not even raising his voice to a whisper so that it seemed to slither over me, making my stomach clench as he handed over dominance to me. I didn't waste any time at all. I went from being underneath his torso on the sofa to having him plastered against the rug on his back with me straddling his thighs in a moment. His shirt was the first thing to go; pushed upward to his upper chest at which point he sat up, showing such strength and control that in any other situation I would have been envious. As it was I was just pleased that his chest was bare and his long hair was ruffled as it fell around his shoulders.

I'm not sure what gave me the idea. I know I didn't deliberate the point at all; I just acted as soon as the thought flittered through my head. I grabbed the discarded wine glass from the table so that I could dip my finger tips into the thick liquid before letting the droplets drip onto his chest. I didn't care what happened to the wine glass after that, I just set it to the side, not bothered if it ended up knocked over. With a devious smile plastered over my face I bent down to place my lips on his skin, letting my tongue sneak out to lick up the traces of wine.

"Lover." He growled at me and I saw his hands clench tightly by his side when I gently bit down on his nipple. "Bite me?" His question was half a statement and half a question. It still got him the result; I bit down harder, letting my teeth rub against his skin at every place where the wine had dropped. My hands sidled down over his stomach, slowly so that I could feel every toned muscle beneath my fingertips, until they reached his jeans which I made light work of.

"Up," I whispered while tugging on the denim for extra emphasis. I was happily surprised to find that he'd been going commando. I crawled back up his body until my lips were hovering over his, barely a hairs breadth away, teasing both of us. "Bite me." I said, using the same words he'd used not even a minute ago with the exact same tone. The second word was barely out of my mouth when he gripped my hips and guided me down, filling my completely. The motion caused a groan to fall from my lips and a growl to reverberate around his chest. Then his lips were on my neck, kissing, licking and teasing me. It's safe to say I didn't have another cognitive thought for quite awhile.

Knocking. There was always knocking nowadays waking me up. I should sleep in a sound proof room where knocking just isn't possible. Glancing at the alarm clock I found that I'd only been a sleep for a little over an hour which for an nap was probably a reasonable time to get up but considering the ridiculous hour that I'd gotten in at last was truly horrendous. The only reason I'd been able to take a nap was that my Gran was at her weekly Descendents of the Glorious Dead meeting which was later than usual this week for some reason.

After I'd recovered from my stupor on the floor of Eric's office and we'd spoken some more we'd finally got up in order to recover my phone. Pam had kindly knocked on the office door when the bar had closed to let us know that I had been found. I'd never had such a problem with knocking, or being interrupted in general before; if this was a new trait in my life I wasn't going to enjoy it. He'd promised once more to not have sex with anyone else and that he would be conscientious of me about the blood drinking. I didn't know what that meant exactly and I didn't ask. I also had another date scheduled in a couple of days for when I had the early evening shift at Merlotte's; Eric was going to come to Bon Temps and we were going to do something. Since it was Bon Temps where the entertainment prospects were very limited I wasn't entirely sure what we were going to be doing. Especially since my Gran would be in the house with us.

When we'd finally reached my home, it was much closer to dawn than it was to being midnight, he'd given me what could amount to the best kiss of my life on the porch. I'd been wrapped up in his arms and pressed up against his chest. My arms had been around his neck with my hands tangled in his hair. The kiss itself had started off fierce and passionate before mellowing down into a softer goodnight. I'd seen so many sides of Eric last night I was beginning to think I had mental whiplash from the dramatic turn arounds.

The loud pounding at the door started up again and I remembered why I wasn't sleeping. Sighing I scrambled up from my place on the sofa, pulling my jumper down so that it was no longer ruffled. It was when I reached the hallway that I realised the person stood behind the door had a completely blank mind; it was a vampire stood out there and I knew for a fact that it wasn't my vampire.

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**So what did you think? Who's at the door? Who thought the lemons was coming right at the beginning of the chapter? You know I love feedback almost as much as I love a certain Viking vampire. GotD only needs 9 more reviews and it will become my highest reviewed piece of work, taking over from Lost and Found. **

**Now the title this week Heart's Done Time is a song title by Aerosmith, I hope it helps to explain Sookie's thoughts throughout the time she's questioning Eric about his exploits. **

**I would also like to give a moment to remember all the men, women and animals that gave their lives during WW1 and WW2 so that we could live on in freedom. Today marks 70 years that the Blitz hit Sheffield, razing most of the city to the ground in a single night. My thoughts are with everyone in our forces and everyone who has loved ones in the forces. Be brave and strong. **

**Until next week. *hugs***


	16. Strong Enough to Handle

**Hey guys, **

**how are you all? Good i hope. It's Christmas Day tomorrow! Well, actually in a couple of hours here. Anybody got any special plans? I'm not doing anything, just a pj and duvet day watching movies and eating a good ol' xmas dinner. We're usually in florida for christmas so it's actually rather strange to be in England for the holiday season. I do have a great early secret santa present; a Sookie style Merlotte's Bar and Grill t-shirt. I do have a rather strange new found love and addiction to Rocky Horror Picture Show, hence why that's the movie that features.  
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**I want to say a really big thank-you to my betas campyrs and trajedy99, they help make this story what it is so a big hug to them. **

**Charlaine Harris owns the wonderful Southern Vampire Mysteries. Oh, and i have a new oneshot out now too. It's called The Old Ones are the Best and it can be found via my profile. On with the chapter.**

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"You've reached Fangtasia, the bar..."

"Hey, it's Sookie, I need to speak to Eric." I didn't recognise the voice on the phone, all I knew it was female, but judging by the smooth sexiness it was a vampire.

"Eric is busy and has asked not to be disturbed."

"Listen, I don't care who you are but I need to speak to Eric, he will want to know about this, now, put him on the phone!" My voice was becoming shrill due to the frustration of not being put through to a vampire when I needed help.

"He is not to be disturbed, I don't care who you are." I wasn't a popular figure at the bar but every vampire there had at least heard of me due to my working for the Queen and usually when I called anywhere needing to speak to a master vampire I got through. If I was panicked there was usually something bad going down.

"Carmen?" I heard Eric's deep voice over the phone. I didn't get a chance to say anything before I was hung up on leaving me alone in the house with what was a very likely to be a hostile vampire at my door. And luckily for me, the knocking had started up again.

"I had another option available to me so I grabbed my purse which was hung up on the pegs near the kitchen door, it just so happened to contain my cell phone. I quickly scrolled through my contacts' list for Eric's number. Unluckily the phone just rang and rang before going to voice mail.

"I might be in trouble, come over here please." I kept my voice as quiet as possible in an attempt to keep the waiting vampire oblivious to my call for aid. "Fuck." I muttered, putting as much emotion into the word as I could muster. I still hadn't gotten round to having the peephole installed that Sam had bought for my last birthday and I was truly regretting that decision so with no other option available to me realistically I opened up the door, slowly, to peak around the edge.

I was met with a broadly grinning face staring right back at me and I immediately felt relief wash through my body. Floppy jet black hair was a complete mess as though his hands had been running through it in frustration but it didn't take away from the wonder that filled me whenever I saw this vampire. The sharp toothy grin was quite disturbing when you were used to see his famous face with a bit more of a smirk. He was still handsome, especially when he was scrubbed up nicely although currently you had to look below the surface to see it due to the unkempt hair, smudged bits of mud on his hands and just a ragged appearance to his outfit.

"Bubba!" I squealed happily as I pulled the door open wider. Bubba, while not being exactly harmless, was the best vampire I'd ever met and he had a rather large soft spot for me that made me feel safe in his presence.

"Miss Sookie," he exclaimed right back at me with his arms thrown open wide to invite me into a hug. Of course I stepped forward, my arms wrapping around his waist while his went around my shoulders to hold me tightly.

"How you doing Bubba?" I asked while he was still hugging me; he didn't show signs of letting go so I might as well have started the conversation.

"I'm doing good. Sophie Anne is letting me stay with her for bit; I've been down in New Orleans for a little while now. They like me down there. How 'bout you?"

"Not too bad." It wouldn't pay to tell Bubba about everything that had happened.

"I hear you're with Mr Eric now, he'll keep you safe." I didn't get a chance to respond to his statement as a cold, vice like hand clamped down on my wrist painfully and I was dragged from the safety of my house. I was pulled from my feet and I grabbed desperately onto Bubba to try to stay upright.

"Argh!" I screamed, alerting anyone that could possibly hear me that I was in trouble. It was completely useless though; I lived out of the main town and the only person around that might hear me would be Bill. I suppose his rescue would be better than no rescue. Bubba finally let me go and I went spilling to the floor even though I was still being held up by the wrist.

I got my first shocking glance up at the vampire that held me; she was tiny, easily smaller than Sophie Anne but she felt older, much older than the Queen. Her appearance was strange with close cropped black hair teamed with tight pink gym wear that would have suited Barbie. Her bright green eyes stared down at me with a coldness I'd usually associate with blue eyes that can't show you anything.

"Shut up," she snarled at me. Her accent was one that I just couldn't place; I knew she wasn't American but apart from that she could have, at least originally, been from anywhere else in the world. "I don't know what they all see you in, pathetic human." My free hand reached up to grab hers so that I could desperately try to ease her grip on me. It was futile.

"What do you want?" I rasped out as I scrambled for my footing, finally getting a grip on the wooden boards of the porch with my bare feet. I followed my hand upwards until I was actually standing up, only to discover the vampire that had me hostage only reached my shoulders.

"What did I just say? Shut up!" She hissed out in boredom before shoving me roughly in the direction of the rocking chair that was in the corner. My back bashed against the side of the house, a second later I stumbled into the chair where I collapsed into a panting heap. "Now, I need to check this. You are Sookie Stackhouse?"

"Yes." Her glare told me that I still wasn't supposed to be speaking even when asked a direct question. Sometimes I really, really hated vampires.

"You are cordially invited by the Queen of Louisiana, Sophie Anne Leclerq, to her home in New Orleans. Once there you will make up part of her security squad, using your telepathy to screen any guest to the royal house or indeed anyone you can that is outside the main entrance." Her bright eyes seemed to light up with an internal fire as she continued to stare at me. It was only when she snarled, actually hissing so much that spit came out of her mouth that I realised she wanted a verbal response in some way to her statement even though this one wasn't a question.

"What happens if I refuse?" I knew I shouldn't be but I was bored; it got tiring being treated like shit by vampires and now that this vampire was no longer promising immediate physical harm to me I wasn't as scared as I should have been.

"She warned me that this might be the case."

"What's your name?" I couldn't resist interrupting her. I knew that if I had her name I had power over her. She wasn't that old, three centuries maybe, which meant I knew many older vampires that probably wouldn't mind kicking around a fledgling for fun, namely a certain Viking I knew.

"I don't have to tell you anything."

"She's Adyra Miss Sookie." Bubba piped up and when I glanced up in his direction for only a split second I found him backed into the other corner, his back pressed into the corner created by the porch fence and the house.

"Both of your shut up." To emphasise her point she stepped forward, making me shrink back, and slapped me a glancing blow across my face. She'd held back, the little amount of pain I felt told me that much, and the lack of a sound to accompany it meant she was only trying to shake me up. "Now then, I have been given permission that if you refuse to attend willing you are to be forced by any means I see necessary that won't result in your incapacitation. I gather all you need to use your telepathy is a head so you won't be in desperate need for any fingers or toes." I swallowed at that, instinctively pulling in my limbs to wrap around my torso too. She laughed out loud at my movement, a hearty belly laugh that filled the night. "So what do you say?"

"I am not going." I still didn't have a plan of how to get out of this situation. I knew I had to get back into the house because unless I invited her in, which I wasn't going to be doing any time soon, I was relatively safe. Of course she could still throw things at me or even set fire to the house to literally smoke me out, but in there I had a defence. I could phone anyone I wanted from in there; the fire brigade, vampires, even Sam would come and help me in a pinch if I needed it. Being a shifter Sam wouldn't be able to take on Adyra on his own but with me and Bubba helping him too, she would be forced to back down. "Why should I go? I'm fed up with god damn vampires telling me what to do." I vented and I knew as soon as the words had left my mouth that I'd stepped too far out of line.

"Sit down!" Adyra roared and she stalked toward me. Bubba was faster than the slinking vampire and his hands clamped down on her arm, stopping her in her tracks. "Let go." She growled at him. Bubbas face was determined.

"Don't hurt Miss Sookie." He yanked on her arm, pulling it out of slapping distance of me.

"Sit down over there, useless." She shook him off as in she simply pulled out of his grasp easily, as though he'd been merely human.

"Don't hurt her." He reiterated before following his instructions. Adyra only huffed in response and then turned her attention back to me.

"Now then, let's try this again." She bowed forward at the waist so that her face was only a few inches away from mine, letting me clearly see the outline of her sharp fangs. "Will you come with us to the Queen's?"

It was suddenly that I discovered the presence of another vampire. One second I was just sitting trembling against the house, the wood rough against my back and then I felt hope when I realised I could sense the presence of another vampire. Inexplicably I knew exactly who the vampire was from the blank spot in my head even though I didn't have a clue what that brain was thinking. My vampire was on his way here and he wasn't very far away.

"My answer is still no! I am not going!" I growled out, using more volume than I had done since I'd first been dragged out of the house. My last word was accompanied by a loud thud as something hit the roof of the porch sending the timbers shuddering with the weight above. Both vampires, even poor Bubba who was huddled in the other corner stared upwards to see what was going on. I took my opportunity and pushed upwards with my legs, using the wall behind me to get leverage and then I was on my feet, scrambling for the door.

I never turned my back on the vampires which was why I saw what happened next. There was a blur of blackness, darker than the still twilight night, which dropped quicker than I could really follow to the ground, creating another thud on impact. Adyra spun around, hands already curved into claws and a snarl on her face to meet Eric's already outstretched hands. He grasped the front of her shirt, the shriek letting me know that his fingers had gone through the material to gouge her flesh, and then spun around, throwing her into the yard. Adyra spun through the air, reaching the height of the porch, before dropping to the ground near the tree line.

"Sookie," Eric roared, sending a shiver down my spine. He never turned around to look at me, instead he began to stalk forward toward Adyra who was only just beginning to stand, she'd hit the ground that hard. "Get inside the house!" I didn't need the command, I was already moving toward the door yet still unable to tear my eyes away from the vampiric drama taking place in front of me. Finally I felt the doorframe with my hand, feeling my way inside I stood shaking just inside the safety of the threshold.

My vampire rushed forward as Adyra leapt into the air, her feet hardly touching the ground her strides were that quick. At the last possible second she ducked to the right, under Eric's outstretched hand. She wasn't quite fast enough; he spun around in midstride to grasp her shoulder to hold her in place. A sickening crunch filled the night air as her shoulder dislocated under Eric's immense strength.

"Bubba?" I called out, unable to turn around to see if my second favourite vampire was still sat on the porch. "You out there Bubba?"

"I'm here Miss Sookie." He came into view just to my right, his hair even more dishevelled than the last time I'd looked and there were marks on his forehead from where his fingers had been pressing in deep. "I'm sorry." He stated in a tone of voice that if he'd been human I would have said bordered on whimpering.

"Don't worry," I replied back, trying to sound as strong as possible. "Now, Bubba come on inside." I reached my hand out to grab his wrist, using the meagre hold I had on him to pull him inside with me. Essentially Bubba had deferred sides since he'd arrived with Adyra; he'd refused to help frighten or persuade me to do what the Queen desired. On the other hand he'd also not really helped me but that could be because he simply wasn't strong enough to do so. It wouldn't be safe for him to return to the Queen for a good long while and I had no doubt that Adyra would be willing to take out her anger on him.

The vampire sidled into the hallway to stand beside me at the door; he too was watching the fight that was still playing out down on the yard. Adyra was running as much as she was able to get to the porch without bothering to lay too many blows on Eric; her strength was ineffectual against my vampire's power. She was faster though, much faster and her small frame was just enough to evade his true brutality. She dipped underneath his arms when he tried to throw a punch and even managed to dive over his leg when he tried a roundhouse kick to her side that never connected.

Suddenly Adyra managed to slither out of Eric's giant hand, swivelling around to loosen his grip which seemed to mainly be on her clothing rather than her body. She sprinted for the stairs, even managing to plant her foot on the first step and just as she was about to leap forward she was ripped from her place. Even though I knew she wouldn't have been able to actually to land a hand on me personally she could have still caused damage; sadly the laws which governed whether a vampire could enter a property didn't dictate that things thrown by uninvited vampires couldn't breach the threshold.

Eric snarled as he threw her up into the air slightly before punching her already injured shoulder with all of his strength behind him. Another crack filled the air followed quickly by a scream of agony the likes of which I'd never heard before. Adyra still got back up, the difference being that this time she ran for the tree line instead of the porch. Eric took off after her, a blur against the night backdrop. Adyra was too fast to follow, soon disappearing into the trees to be swallowed up by the darkness.

"Mr Eric always makes things better." Bubba said with a simple confidence that made it seem like his belief was a fact. I found myself believing him because since I'd met Eric he really had always made things better for me. It was while I was still watching the yard, searching for any sign of movement that Eric appeared down near the bottom of the drive, running up toward the house. "See, we're fine now."

"You go on inside." I mumbled to him, not taking my eyes off of the running vampire. "There's some blood you can get from the fridge."

"Okay."

I didn't dare take a step outside to greet him; I couldn't feel another blank spot apart from the two accounted for vampires but I didn't entirely trust my telepathy at the minute. I hadn't realised there was another vampire out on the porch until after I'd already put myself in danger. Of course, I think that was because I'd already felt one vampire and wasn't on the lookout for another. It's a little strange but it's harder to detect vampire minds than human ones because they're silent; active brains almost seem to want my attention with the amount of noise I can hear from them.

Eric reached the stairs, bounding up them in one stride from the ground until he was stood directly in front of me, his eyes scanning my body for any signs of harm. I was actually fine apart from some bruising and what felt like battered feet. No blood had been drawn and nothing was broken so for me it was very good.

"What happened?" Eric asked quietly. With his hands gently grasping my shoulders he pulled me outside with him, shutting the door softly behind us so that Bubba hopefully wouldn't be able to hear us. Eric's fangs were still elongated giving him a bit of a strange appearance; kind, sincere words accompanied by a mouth that was literally ready to tear into something.

"There was a knock on my door, it was a vampire so I called. I found Bubba and when I hugged him to say hello I got dragged outside. Adyra said the Queen didn't like your idea of sending someone to help so she sent those two to take me. Bubba to help persuade me nicely and Adyra for more physical manipulation if I wasn't keen on the idea." His hands were still resting on my shoulders but I didn't care. I stepped forward, my own arms fastening tightly around his waist as I pulled myself in for a safe hug, letting my head fall against his chest. "Adyra didn't exactly stick to the plan. Poor Bubba, he didn't know he was being sent for this. He tried as much as he could. Don't blame him."

"I do not." I felt a kiss being pressed into my hair and smiled at the notion.

"What happened to Adyra?" At this question his body stiffened.

"She ran off, I could not catch her. It seems she is so tiny that it manages to beat me. If I had laid my hands on her." His last word trailed off in an unintelligible growl that was barely audible it was that deep.

"Will she be back?"

"I doubt it. She knows that you are under my protection and she got lucky this time. She evaded me once; it will not happen again."

"What injuries do you have?" Vampires weren't usually the easiest people to read; right now I could easily feel his anger and what appeared to be guilt coursing through his body as he tried to find out what had happened to me again.

"Just bruises. I have another question for you." I felt him nod, his head bobbing so that his chin touched my forehead. "How did you know to come? I couldn't reach you."

"I heard Carmen on the phone. I got enough out of her since she did not bother to get any details that you were in some form of trouble. Never a dull moment." He chuckled, barely, before kissing my hair again.

"I couldn't get through to you when I called your cell."

"I was already flying over here." I couldn't help but smile at that statement; my boyfriend meant literally flying over to save me and it made me feel special in some warped Disney princess way. I had given up on ever feeling anything like that years ago, though I was still a hopeless romantic at heart. "Where is your Gran?" He asked after a few more seconds had passed. When I glanced up at him, as best as I was able, I found his head tilted to the side while he tried to hear minute noises in the house that might tell him where she was.

"She's at a "Descendants of the Glorious Dead" meeting, she should be back real soon." I gave him one last squeeze, which was more for my comfort, before releasing him and standing back, inching toward the door. I still didn't have anything on my feet and it was beginning to get mighty cold outside.

"We need to get Bubba to leave unless you want to tell your Gran about everything." My Gran is a wonderful lady, very accepting of me with all the strangeness that I bring into her life. I wasn't about to turn her world upside down by telling her that a singer she greatly admired was not in fact dead, but sitting in her kitchen drinking bottled blood, had a strange affinity for cats and did not like to be called by his former name.

"Get him outta here." My words sounded harsher than I'd intended them and I really didn't want anything bad to happen to poor old Bubba. He wasn't exactly innocent in this but rather his simple mind had been exploited in this situation, he didn't deserve anything truly horrible. "Nicely." Eric nodded in consent before entering the house, ahead of me but holding the door open for me like a true gentleman. He disappeared into the kitchen quickly and by the time I got there, having not actually heard any of their conversation, there was an empty, rinsed bottle of True Blood in the recycling container and Bubba was standing near the back door.

"I'm going now Miss Sookie, Eric here says I can stay at Fangtasia for a few days. I can have as much blood as I want." He was grinning again though there were some wrinkles around his eyes that said he wasn't entirely back to his normally cheerful self quite yet. "Plus, Shreveport's got lots of stray cats." I smacked a smile across my face, because if I'd let my true revulsion of his last statement show I would have been near gagging.

"That's good Bubba. Have a safe journey." I gave him another hug before he disappeared out of the back door. Less than a minute later his brain signature disappeared out of my range. I bolted the door behind him and that's when I saw the dark purple bruise on my wrist from where Adyra had originally grabbed my arm to drag me out of the house. "Shit." I muttered, running my fingertips over the marks, wondering how I hadn't noticed it before because now that I knew it was there, it hurt like hell.

"We had better cover that up. Come on." Eric walked from the room and I followed him, knowing that he'd have some form of plan to sort me out before my Gran got home. Judging by the clock I only had about five minutes, if that, because the meeting had ended about an hour ago. The coffee and biscuits afterward could only take so long. "Do you know how to cover bruises up?"

"Only with clothing." Vampires didn't really bruise that much, and when they did, covering up a few bruises was usually the last thing on their minds as they normally accompanied what would be a mortal wound to a human. "Put a jumper on and some socks. You're walking staccato." I didn't have a clue what he was on about.

"Staccato walking?"

"Quick steps, detached." I grabbed the extra items of clothing I needed and sat down on the bed so that I could pull the socks on. I'd just about got the first sock to my toes when I was stopped by a pair of cool hands. "Hold on." I looked at him quizzically but it did no good; he didn't bother to explain himself, instead he sat down next to me and pulled both of my feet into his lap. Slowly his hands began to massage the balls of my feet, gentle pressure that felt heavenly against my aches. "Why weren't you wearing any shoes or socks?" He kept the motion of his fingers going and I knew without having to look that he was improving the marks by simply increasing blood flow and dissipating any swelling.

"I'd been taking a nap. You tired me out last night." I grinned at him wickedly as the memories of last night filled my head. Of course, it wasn't just our antics that had me tired; when I actually got up this morning I discovered I'd only had about four hours of sleep.

"Your Gran is here." Surprise flickered through me for a second before I realised it was perfectly plausible for him to know. I flapped his hands away from me and pulled my socks on so that I could run safely for the front door

"Gran?" I called out as I whipped the door open, my eyes already searching for her. My gaze landed first on her empty car, which happened to be my old one, which was empty in her normal parking space. "Oh!" I exclaimed as I finally saw her. I couldn't detect any other minds around but I still ushered her inside as quickly as I could without her getting too suspicious. "Come on inside, it's freezing out here."

"Okay, okay, I'm going." She laughed as she rushed into the kitchen to set her bag down on the table. "Oh, Eric! Hello. I didn't realise you were here." She turned around to stare pointedly at me for not warning her about our guest. "Would you like a blood?" Nothing seemed to faze her when it came to being a good hostess.

"Yes please." I nearly gaped at his use of 'please' I didn't think he really had it in his vocabulary. He really did know how to turn on the charm.

"What are you two kids up to this evening?" She grabbed the heated up bottle from the microwave and handed it over, top already discarded, to Eric.

"We are going to watch a movie or two." I nodded appreciatively at him.

"Okay, well, I'll give you two some privacy, I'm feeling quite tired anyway. I'll be in my room if you need me." She gave me a hug and a kiss on the cheek as she passed.

"We're watching a movie?" I hadn't actually considered whether he was staying or not; I'd pulled him from Fangtasia on what had obviously been a working night so I just presumed that he would be heading back sooner rather than later.

"Yes." A small smirk played on his kissable lips at my expression. "I am not going anywhere tonight. I seriously doubt that anyone else will try anything but I am not going to be taking any chances. If it had not been able to feel you through the blood connection I would have been too late." His words sent me thinking about how closely connected we were.

Eric had taken my blood a few times, only a small amount, but it was enough. Even a single drop was enough to form a connection between donor and vampire; the vampire was able to sense basic emotions and the general area where the person currently resided. The affect soon faded if no more blood was taken and it wasn't a close enough bond to be used accurately. If the human took some of the vampires' blood however the connection became much stronger and faded much slower.

With Eric's blood in my system I would have all of the usual advantages of taking vampire blood; improved strength, better senses, more control over my telepathy, a healthier glow and, this one was quite a girly positive point, my hair would develop a sheen, appearing a lighter blonde. I would also get the disadvantages of an increased sex drive, like I needed that right now, the possibility of my skin beginning to glow ever so slightly like a vampires did and my telepathy might also improve in the sense that I might be able to read more minds. I was dreading the day that I was finally able to read vampires minds reliably or properly. The day that happened was the day that I met my death.

At the minute the advantages seriously outweighed the disadvantages, and I had to remember the pleasure that even taking a vampire's blood could bring. I'd only ever taken blood from two different vampires, only one of which had been mutually pleasurable considering that one of them had been Pam when I'd been injured. She had told me that I had been wonderful for several weeks afterward. Thankfully that connection had faded away pretty much completely a few months ago and even more thankfully, Bill's blood connection to me was nearly gone too now. That would be another positive; having Eric's blood in my body would erase Bill's just by the sheer strength of a new connection.

"Have you eaten?"

"Yes, I had a large afternoon tea with my Gran before she went out." I plopped down on the couch, immediately pulling one of the fleece blankets over my legs as soon as I was comfortable.

"Oh no." My eyes widened in shock at his words; I had no idea what he was disagreeing with since I didn't think he had a problem with me eating before he got here. "You do not get away from me that quickly." The only warning I got of something a little surprising, frankly it was quite scary to be whisked through the air, was the devilish smile that lit up his entire face and then he was on me. His hands gripped my waist so he could pick me up. I was almost thrown into the air while my vampire lunged underneath me to land, somehow, softly on the sofa laid out on his back. I was gently laid down on top of him, chest to chest. I don't think I'll ever get used to how vampires can move. "That is better."

"You're ridiculous." I giggled as I calmed down a little and when my heart realised that I was never in any true danger.

"Yes, but we both prefer this." He wiggled his eyebrows and showed off his fangs that had elongated at some point during the past couple of seconds.

"Stop it." I slapped his chest softly because even if I used a lot of my strength I was only going to end up hurting myself and I couldn't say I was that angry. "My Gran is awake, it's early. Control yourself. Now let's watch a movie as you suggested." I grabbed the remote control from its place in the little basket we kept beside the sofa that also contained a little box of tissues, spare batteries and whatever else I chucked in there when I was too lazy to get up. I switched the television on and flickered to a movie channel without bothering to check what was actually on. "Ooh, Rocky Horror." It was a bit of a guilty pleasure for me, I really shouldn't have liked the film and it was true that most people I knew hated it but I loved the film. It was fun, the songs were catchy and let's face it Rocky has a pretty good body. I chuckled to myself when I realised I had my very own muscle man with blond hair, the exception being that mine would never have a tan and of course, he had an even better body.

"What will the Queen do now?" I asked after a few minutes of watching the movie which had only just started; Janet and Brad were only just breaking down on the dead end street. My question was met with no response and it was only after I'd carefully poked him in the ribs that I realised he'd already switched into down time as I called it. My jab did wake him. If I'd known before I would have just let him sleep for lack of a better term.

"She will undoubtedly be calling Fangtasia demanding to speak to me and not believing the answer when the Staff says that I am not there. I will have to answer for my stunt at some point. It will likely just be a cash sum because Sophie Anne knows that she can't really enforce much else."

"Will she be safe?" The Queen definitely wasn't one of my favourite vampires but I knew that we could have a much worse leader of the state. With Eric being so much older than her he was pretty much free to run his area how he pleased, especially since he did it so well, which meant that things could get a lot easier for me now.

"Did you get invited to New Orleans or St Louis?"

"New Orleans."

"She will be fine. It would have to be a very determined attack to get through her defences there." I heard the start of the time warp from the television which drew my attention back to the movie. Underneath me I felt Eric's body still as he again dropped into down time much easier than a human would fall asleep. I gently laid my head down on his chest and watched the rest of the movie in comfort; I'd speak to him about the blood giving after.

"Hmm. Lover." I never got a chance to wake him up after the movie finished. Like he'd managed to develop another sense he stirred about five minutes from the end, right as the final Frank song started. He started with kisses to the top of my head while his hands wandered down my body to finally rest on my ass for a few moments before roaming back up. As soon as I turned my head to look up at him to see what he wanted he captured my lips in a kiss that would have made me weak in the knees if I'd been standing up. When his tongue brushed against my lips I knew I had to stop this or I'd never get to talk to him about what I wanted.

"Stop." I said forcefully, letting him hear my stubbornness. He pulled back immediately, with what appeared to be the beginnings of a hurt and perplexed expression on his face as though he simply couldn't understand why I was stopping him. I actually had two reasons; needing to talk and the fact that we were blatantly lying in the living room of my home with my Gran in the next room. We couldn't exactly lock the door to the lounge, it was suspicious enough locking my bedroom door. "I need to talk to you." I kissed his lips, pulling back before he could tempt me into more, to let him know that it was nothing bad. Rather awkwardly I shuffled to a standing position, turned the television off and walked to my bedroom, leaving the door open for Eric.

"What is wrong?" He locked the door behind him and then joined me on the bed where he wrapped his arms around me tightly, pulling me in protectively to his chest.

"Nothing is wrong exactly. I've realised that I really do have a nose for trouble."

"Yes, the best. You are a lot of fun." Only a vampire could describe the amount and type of trouble I often found myself in as fun.

"Well, tonight was a bit of a close call. If you hadn't been around to hear Carmen talking to me on the phone I may have been dragged off to the Queen's home."

"If you reached immediate danger I would have sensed it."

"I know, but it may have been too late, I would probably have been knocked unconscious and loaded into a car on my way to New Orleans. So..." I trailed off, a little unsure about how to proceed exactly; it wasn't something I'd ever asked for before. In fact, I had actually refused his blood in London when he'd offered it to me.

"If you had some of my blood in you I would have known as soon as you got pulled from your house. I would know what you were feeling, where you were." He'd softened his voice, hopefully understanding what I was getting at rather than trying to encourage me into taking his blood. I wanted to be in control again at this point. I may have come to this decision on my own but I was still rather apprehensive about being tied in any way to another vampire.

"Yes, exactly. I know I didn't want to take it before but, the easiest way to put this is that I've changed my mind. If you're still willing I would like to, ah, take some of your blood." I didn't get a verbal response straight away; his hand gently gripped my chin to turn my head to the sound. He kissed me, deep and passionately as soon as he was able to and I kissed back, my hands going into his hair to keep him in place. It was only my lack of oxygen that eventually made us pull back.

"Having a direct line to your trouble?" I couldn't believe that was what he was thinking about at a time like this. I could feel how excited he was by the prospect since I was sitting in his lap at this point. He chuckled, dispelling the beginnings or my ire. He kissed me again, this time using his hands to spin me around so I was straddling his waist. "Yes lover."

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**So what did you think? Looking forward to the next chapter? You know I love feedback almost as much as i love a certain Viking vampire. Speaking of, i want to say a really big thank-you to everyone that sent some feedback, this story now has the most reviews of any of my stories and it isn't even finished! **

**This weeks title is taken from the Dashboard Confessional song Reason to Believe and the full title is more along the lines of, 'I know that you are strong enough to handle what i need'. **

**So, thanks for reading and have a very good week. Happy Holidays everyone! **

***hugs*  
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	17. When the World Comes Down

**Hey guys, **

**how are you all? I hope you all had a very good Christmas. I did but i have to say it's been a very hectic week. I said hello to my new baby cousin Alexander, had my annual tests done at the hospital (as i write this i have a horrible swelling and bruise on my inner elbow from blood tests) and got my car fixed properly so she now runs smoothly which took a lot of garage time for me and my dad. I also happened to try my hand at being vampire pale, well okay i got sick which made me look even paler than normal, so bad my friends thought i was a moment from passing out all day. I think the lack of colour comes from being blond haired, blue eyed and a lack of sun that comes from living in england. Anyway, enough whining from me. **

**I'll say all my thanks first. So; thanks Suzi, you sent me a review for chapter 15 and i couldn't reply to you. Now a really big thank-you to my wonderful betas campyrs and trajedy99, couldn't do this without them. **

**Next, just reminder about my holiday oneshot - The Old Ones are the Best is available from my profile. As for the new years one shot, i'm a couple of thousand words in so hopefully it'll be done in time. But, it may have to just be posted on saturday. **

**Charlaine Harris owns the wonderful Southern Vampire Mysteries and on with the chapter!**

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I pushed him back as hard as I could, it only worked because he voluntarily laid down when he realised my intention, onto the bed. He pulled me down on top of him so that I was completely laying on him, the tips of my toes not coming anywhere near his feet. Instead of feeling dwarfed in his presence, I felt safe, protected; he wouldn't hurt me and he'd proven it time and again that he would defend me. It kind of made it hard for a girl to keep her heart protected when there was such a vampire around.

The next instant, just before I was able to kiss his chest just above the collar of his shirt, I was flipped over onto my back so that my vampire was looming directly above me. His hair fell down in a curtain around us to trail onto the pillow where it blended almost seamlessly with mine. I simply couldn't wait anymore and I tried to sit up so that I could kiss him, my hands holding onto his shoulders to steady myself. His lips were soft and inviting, moulding with mine as he kissed me back with abandon. Wandering hands began to grace my body, sending little shivers from wherever his fingertips touched.

"Are you sure?" I'd never expected him to actually check with me, I'd just assumed that he would take my word for it and be taken over by lust.

"Yes." I pulled back only enough to mumble the word before kissing him again, pulling him down so that I could rest against the bed again.

I didn't even notice him undressing me until he stopped kissing me to pull my jeans off and I discovered he'd already unfastened my shirt and front fastening bra, both items were quickly shed leaving me naked on the bed. Eric's clothes quickly went the same way.

"Eric," I moaned a little too loudly as he kissed along my neck, his tongue teasing my skin. My one exclamation sent him into a frenzy; rolling us over so that I was once again on top. My hands gripped his shoulders, fingers digging into his hard muscles.

"Bite me lover." He whispered back at me, taking a moment's break from my neck. I didn't hesitate, I knew I was able to bite through his skin, to the blood underneath.

"Only if you bite me," I grinned back. I began to kiss his neck over where an artery would have been pulsing if he'd been human, sucking the flesh into my mouth and earning a groan with every motion. He thrust into me suddenly and it was that which made me bite down with all my strength so that my teeth penetrated his skin cleanly. His blood filled my mouth, tasting metallic and almost sweet; a deep, rich flavour like I'd never experienced before. He grabbed my wrist then and bit down without warning, joining us together in a third which was simply too much for me to handle, especially when he took his first long drag. I didn't last more than two seconds before I was thrown into the depths of ecstasy, not to resurface for quite a long time.

I awoke, for some reason I didn't know, at about dawn to a silent house in darkness. Nothing was stirring and the only brains I could feel in the area was my Gran, who was in deep sleep, and Eric who was still blissfully laid beside me, dead to the world already. I shrugged off wondering why I was woken up and just chose to enjoy the moment while I could. I snuggled further into Eric's side, allowing my cheek to rest against his cool chest which was a nice change to the complete warmth of my body since I'd been cocooned under the duvet for hours. Even in his sleep he was keeping me close to him with his strong arm draped around my waist so that his hand rested on my bare hip. I'd discovered that he was just a little protective and possessive if I was into understating.

I wasn't entirely sure if it was safe for him to be just lounging in bed with me so close to dawn. There wasn't anything I could do about it; he was already in his day time slumber and there would be no rousing him apart from in some form of an emergency. The drapes were shut, and they were lined, although they weren't black out blinds they would have to suffice, I just had to trust that Eric knew what he was doing.

Although he was completely relaxed with not an ounce of tension residing in his body he looked completely dishevelled; hair all over the place and even though I knew it was impossible, he looked tired. It was while I was gazing at his handsome face that I noticed that my hair now blended completely seamlessly with his. Our hair was trailing over the same pillow and there was no distinguishing colour difference between the strands. Well it was safe to say that his blood had worked its way into my system. I couldn't really feel him any better than before, that was probably more because he was essentially dead than the blood exchange not working.

"I need to tell you something Eric," I whispered to him even though I couldn't give a reason as to why. I also hadn't lost it, I knew he couldn't hear me and that was the precise reason that I was speaking to him. If I didn't get this off my chest now he'd be able to tell soon enough that I was holding something back from him. "I think I love you." I planted a kiss on his chest, sweetly. "No. I know I love you."

I had known from the beginning that I had to protect my heart and I'd also known from that first date in London that it was pointless, I was already being swept off my feet. Surprisingly I wasn't too scared by the feeling that had just hit me at some point last night, round about the same time I'd decided to take his blood and he'd asked me if I really wanted to go ahead with the exchange. I hadn't been in love with anyone since or before Bill and this time it felt different; I wasn't being consumed, I still felt whole and if anything I was feeling stronger, as though I was growing.

I smiled to myself and snuggled down once again into his side, my head resting on the crook of his shoulder where his shoulder met his chest. This was one of the great things about sleeping with a vampire in a daytime slumber, you could snuggle to your heart's content and they would never complain. It's safe to say that I didn't last five minutes before I was once again deep in sleep.

"Right Gran, I'm going to work. Remember, don't go into my room." I gave her a kiss on the cheek.

"Yes, yes. I promise, now go or you're going to be late." I gave her another kiss and jogged out of the back door to get to my car; she was speaking the truth, if I didn't get going I really was going to be late. I'd debated telling her about Eric for a couple of hours before finally realising that I had to tell her, just in case she had to go into my room for some reason. It would be potentially dangerous for him and she would take it badly to discover a sleeping vampire naked in my bed. When I did tell her she took it surprisingly well. I hadn't told her he was actually in my bed, instead telling her that the hidey hole in my closet wasn't light tight anymore so my room had to remain dark. She seemed to buy that he'd stayed over because we'd been watching movies until the early hours, not leaving him enough time to safely get back to Shreveport but I couldn't be entirely sure that she wasn't just being her wonderfully understanding self.

"Sookie, nice to see you," Sam greeted me cheerfully as I walked into his office.

"Hey Sam, what's the crowd like today?" When I'd driven through the car park I'd only noticed three cars in the customer lot. I stowed my purse in the drawer that Sam kept free for all the employees and gave him a quick hug as I stood back up.

"Quiet, very quiet. Hopefully it'll pick up soon when lunch time really kicks in." I glanced at the clock; it was nearly twelve o clock, there should have already been a crowd and I had a feeling that Sam's thoughts were just wishful thinking rather than a premonition.

I walked into the bar and found the one person I really didn't want to speak to. I was in a very good mood and I had a feeling that speaking to Arlene would ruin it.

"Hey," I greeted her as I slid past her to get a new notepad from the shelf where we kept lots of random things. Ignoring her completely would be worse than having a full blown conversation with her because that would make her mad. Arlene definitely had a temper.

"Hey Sookie. Can I have a quick word with you?" I glanced across at the tables and saw that no one needed a refill and no one needed a waitress for any reason.

"Sure." I didn't have an excuse not to talk to her and I wasn't getting any malicious intent from her brain, if anything I was getting guilt which surprised me.

"The other day when I was, ah, getting mad with you. I wanted to apologise. I can't control you. It doesn't mean I can condone what you do with your..." her eyes fluttered shut for a second as she struggled to get the word out and the accompanying pictures in her head caused me to clamp my shields down as tightly as possible. "Vampire. But I can't stop you and you know my feelings on the matter." It was the biggest apology I'd ever heard Arlene give. She opened up her arms and enveloped my in a hug which I gladly returned. This was more like the friend I'd had a couple of years back before my life had been turned upside down and inside out compared to the boring back town life I'd been leading before vampires came out of the coffin.

"It's okay, you just can't do stuff like that."

"Oh, he ain't mad at me is he?" She was terrified of Eric; I could feel it even through my shields, the emotion coming from her amplified by our touch.

"No, he doesn't care enough to be mad." It was the truth and although it actually bothered her a little, it calmed her down enough to know there wasn't a vampire out there angry with her.

"Just don't do anything like that again or he might get mad. He's quite protective." I gave her another squeeze and then I pulled back. "It's okay Arlene and thank-you." I smiled at her and then trotted off toward a table that needed a drink refill.

The bar never really got busy that afternoon, certainly not bad enough to need three waitresses on duty which is why I got sent home an hour early from the bar; there was no need for me to be there when Holly showed up. I thanked Sam and hopped into my car in the bright sunshine, the kind you only get when the sun is so low on the horizon that you stare at it just looking at the road. I didn't know it at the time but I would be eternally thankful that I got to leave work that afternoon. If I had left even only five minutes later everything might have turned out differently.

As soon as I reached the drive to my home I knew there was something wrong. I didn't have a clue what I was picking up on, I couldn't tell if there was even anyone home never mind anyone else there, since I was still too far away from the house to pick up on anything telepathically. Something was different yet everything appeared to be exactly the same. I slowed the car down until I was barely creeping along, it would have been faster to walk, that way I could try and think everything through. It was stupid that I could tell that anything was wrong, I definitely wasn't psychic, but I still couldn't shake the feeling.

"Damn it." I muttered to myself as I gently applied the brakes, making as little noise as possible on the gravel, and slipped the car into park. I huffed, annoyed at myself, as I clambered out of my car only just managing to stop myself from slamming the car door shut.

I made my way to the tree line while I was still too far away from the house to be seen, just in case. The sun was low enough on the horizon to just have bright fingers above the trees but it definitely hadn't set yet so Eric would still be dead to the world and not at all helpful if anything was happening. The ground was solid, there hadn't been any rainfall in a few days, which meant that my progress was quite quick and I wasn't bothered enough by the light crunching of leaves underfoot to creep; the low noise wouldn't be audible to anyone in the house unless they were a vampire.

Soon I had looped completely around the house, there had only been my Gran's car in its usual spot on the drive way, and again everything appeared to be perfectly fine. Still, I walked until I was placed directly in front of the back door so that I could make a break for it. I'd rather appear foolish and have my Gran laugh at me than risk something.

"Come on Sookie," I whispered to myself, plucking up all the courage I could muster. I was standing, just about hidden by shadows, bouncing up and down on the balls of my feet while shaking my hands by my side in preparation. I could feel the adrenaline coursing through my veins sending my heart thumping at a fast patter while the oxygen my lungs were drawing in seemed to light my body on fire with energy. I nodded once and then I ran for it.

There was no way to keep undercover as I made my way from the trees to the back porch, I just had to hope that if there was something going on in the house that the person wouldn't be looking out of the back windows for me. My legs pumped as fast as I could, in a full sprint, for the back door so that when I finally reached the steps with burning lungs I made it to the top in one long bound. The screen door had been left open, probably from my Gran collecting the washing that had been left out, which let me slide to a halt on the wooden porch.

It was there that I discovered the first sign that there really was something wrong; the back door had been left ajar. It was only an inch but it was something that we never did especially not when the screen door had been left open as well. Immediately I reached out with my mind, searching for the brains inside the house. I found Eric first of all, exactly where I had left him and then I discovered my Gran in the living room. I wasn't entirely sure how I managed to restrain myself from barging into the house straight away. She was terrified, so scared that she couldn't stop quaking and she was crying out for me in her mind. There was someone else in their too, I just couldn't read who because there mind was shut off from me, giving me absolutely nothing almost as bad a vampire's mind. It happened to be the silence that told me exactly who was inside my house.

"Caleb," I whispered under my breath, so quiet that I was almost just mouthing the word to myself. I'd almost forgotten about the devil that had kidnapped me. I'd assumed that he would rear his ugly head again I just hadn't presumed that it would be now or even here at my house. One more cleansing breath and I was ready, I couldn't leave my Gran stranded when she needed me so badly.

I grabbed the closest thing that could be used as a weapon, more to defend myself than go for the attack, which happened to be an old frying pan that was decidedly stick instead of non-stick these days and was ready for throwing out. I threw the door open and ran through the house going straight for the living room where I could now hear my Gran whimpering. Nothing I could have done would have prepared me for what I was about to see.

My Gran was sprawled out on the floor, one arm outstretched toward the phone that was kept on the little side table next to the sofa, her other arm was bent at an excruciating angle. Her legs didn't seem to be broken but a black bruise had already taken over her right knee. Her eyes were shut lightly while her face was contorted into a painful grimace. It wasn't the obvious broken bones or the bruises that also covered her arms that was the scary thing, it was the volume of blood that was pooling around her.

"Gran!" I squealed out, unable to stop myself. Her eyes never flickered, nothing about her moved and I felt my stomach drop, suddenly it was a dead weight in my body.

I rushed forward again, skidding to my knees as my arms reached out to touch her face. It broke my heart to do it but my fingers tentatively reached out for her neck, so that I could see if she had a carotid pulse. It was the longest second of my life, pressing down on her warm skin until I was in the right place. Relief flooded through me when a weak pulse beat beneath my fingers.

"Gran?" I asked again, leaning down close to her so that I could whisper. Caleb was in the house somewhere, I just couldn't tell where. "Come on, open your eyes, it's Sookie." She stirred as soon as I mentioned my name, as though she realised that it really was me speaking. Her eyes fluttered open, startlingly dull, as she stared up at me.

"Behind." She rasped back, unable to form any other words. I spun around as much as I was able, almost falling over in the slick blood that had already soaked into my trousers and had coated my hands.

"Hello Sookie, how nice of you to join us." Caleb leered, a broad smirk plastered across his face. His hair was as unkempt as ever, falling down in front of his face so that he had to keep brushing it back with his hands so that he could actually see. "We've been waiting so long for you to get home, haven't we Adele." Fear gripped me. "She's feisty you know, your Gran. You should be proud of her, put up a fight almost up to your standard. Now it's time for you and me Sookie. You escaped me once, it won't happen again."

I backed up from him, skidding along the floor backwards on my hands and knees until my back hit the radiator.

"Come on now, that's no way to react Sookie, it's only me," Caleb laughed to himself. He took a single step forward and then paused for a few seconds, waiting while he stared directly into my eyes before taking another slow step. There was nowhere for me to go, I was backed into the radiator with both sides cut off, one by the sofa and one by my Gran. My hands trailed across the floor, I tried as hard as possible to ignore the blood, for the frying pan that I'd dropped at some point. Caleb loomed above me, his face only a couple of feet away from mine. He peered, assessing everything about me and it was then, while I stared back like a rabbit caught in headlights that he struck.

His hand shot out to slap my face, sending my head bouncing back into the radiator so hard that the metal resounded and I ricocheted off. My neck throbbed with the impact more than my skull. I screamed, loud and guttural, against the pain to clear my vision. It worked. I saw his hand recoil back for the second blow. I didn't think about what I was doing, I simply acted.

My fingers wrapped around the handle of the frying pan they'd just brushed up against and I gripped it with all my strength, so that my knuckles turned white. I didn't even realise what I had done until I saw the round metal pan collide with his face. His head whipped to the side, sending blood splattering from his mouth.

"You bitch!" Caleb roared as he stumbled back, away from my swinging arm. His snarl showed bloodied teeth. I clambered to my feet while I had the chance. I found myself standing in front of my Gran, knees bent so I was ready to pounce, and pan raised in a defensive stance. "You think you can take me on? You got another fucking thing coming." He lunged forward and I could do nothing but stand my ground protectively.

He never connected with me. I didn't close my eyes, I didn't move apart from to brace myself for the impact of him hitting me and I still didn't see what happened. One second the snarling part demon was flying through the air at me with his arms outstretched and the next moment he simply wasn't there anymore. The area where he had been was empty, clear and I had no idea where he had gone. Sadly, the miraculous shock didn't last long and my gaze flittered around the room looking for the trick

I didn't know how I hadn't seen them at first, they were both still in my line of sight, albeit in my peripheral vision, down on the floor near the door. Eric was straddling Caleb, one hand holding the bastard's arms out of the way while his other attempted to crush his neck.

I dropped to my knees, the pan clattering to the floor beside me and then I spun around to help my Gran. Her eyes were closed again and the bit of colour she had had drained from her face leaving her deathly pale. She was still alive, her chest rising ever so slightly with each breath and her heart beat weakly in her chest. I saw the cause of all the blood this time; a deep puncture wound in her side, between two of her ribs. Instinctively I grabbed whatever I could to place over the wound, which happened to be one of the blankets from the sofa. Without actually knowing what I was doing, I padded the blanket up and pressed it down over the wound, leaning onto my hands to apply more pressure. Tears began to stream down my face, partly clouding my vision but I kept the sobs at bay; there would be a time for crying later.

"Gran! Come on, open your eyes again." I pleaded with her, not daring to move an inch to shake her for fear of letting her bleed out more. There was an awful lot of blood inside her. If I hadn't seen so many bodies that had died from haemorrhage I would have easily believed there was no blood left in her small body. "Come on Gran. Hold on, please. Look at me!" I screamed the last sentence, begging her to hear me and to fight against the pain she must be in. She didn't open her eyes but they did flicker, barely more than a twitch but it was enough to tell me she was fighting and that I couldn't give up. I would never have given up anyway. I needed her.

After another heart breaking second I tore my eyes away from her face to see the wrestling supes. They were both standing up, tightly circling each other as they snarled and gnashed their teeth. Faster than I could follow Eric whipped his arm out, punching Caleb's already injured jaw with a bone crunching force that made me wince. Caleb fell to the ground, a howl of pain rising from his lips.

He didn't stay down for long. Quicker than I would ever have believed possible he was on his feet in a crouching run out of the room. My vampire tore after him, clad in only his jeans, so that he was streak of white and black which left just me and my Gran in the room.

It was almost as if I could see the life leaving her frail body. I could feel her growing weaker and I knew what I was doing wasn't enough. "Hold on," I whimpered to her and then I lifted one hand from the wound, relaxing the pressure so that I could stretch across the few feet to the side table that held the phone. I was mercifully within reach, just, my fingers brushing the cordless handset to the floor where I could reach it better.

"Hello, you've reached the emergency services, what is the problem?" I couldn't tell you who I was speaking to although I knew everyone that worked at the police station where all emergency calls in the area were routed to.

"I need an ambulance, now." I cried out and I felt a fresh wave of tears welling up. "It's my Gran. She's been stabbed."

"Sookie? What's going on?" The voice was frustrating; couldn't she tell this wasn't the time for stupid questions?

"I need an ambulance, yes it's Sookie. My house on Hummingbird road, I need an ambulance now. It's my Gran." I reiterated, barely making any sense even to myself.

"Okay, calm down." I couldn't calm down even if I wanted to. "The ambulance has been dispatched, it's on its way. Now, I need you to do exactly what I say." I nodded, not caring that the person wouldn't be able to tell that I was agreeing. I managed to balance the phone between my ear and shoulder as I placed both hands on the sodden blanket, applying more pressure. "Get something to put on the wound, I want you to apply strong, even pressure."

"I'm already doing that!" I shouted out. It was then, while I was once again looking down at her, that I saw a shuddering breath leave my Gran. There wasn't another one after that. I dropped the phone, I didn't care about what the person on the other end had to say; she wasn't in this room with me, she didn't know what was happening. "Eric!" I screamed as loud as I could, until my lungs burned in protest. "Eric!" He would be able to save her, I just had to work on getting her alive enough for his blood to work.

I laid her out as flat as I could, taking care not to jostle her broken arm too much. I went through everything step by step, her throat was clear and I tilted her head back as I'd learned so many years ago to keep her airways open. Then I gave her two breaths before beginning chest compressions with the base of my paired hands, hard enough to generate the pressure I needed. "Gran, don't do this. Don't give up." The tears streaming down my face were beginning to blind me and the sobs were threatening to take over, I just wouldn't let them. Another two breaths, followed by compressions and it was then that I felt it. I paused to check her carotid pulse and I felt it; weak, barely there at all but still, importantly there. "Stay with me, I'm here." I didn't dare move her again so I just went back to my original position and put pressure on her wound. There was no sign of Eric yet I knew he was close; something deep within me was telling me he was nearby.

I stretched upward, still pressing down with my hands, to peer out of the window. "Eric!" I screamed again, hoping that he would be able to hear me or at least sense my utter distress. My vision cleared enough for me to see him on the gravel drive way; his head turned around to stare at me peeking above the window sill and for me to see a blow land on his stomach that sent him double over. He didn't go down. He retaliated with a roundhouse kick that hit Caleb's shoulder, the one that had been injured in London, and then another fist to the jaw which, even from all the way in the house, I could tell snapped the bone; the howl of sheer agony was cut in half when it became too painful to make any noise at all. Eric didn't waste any time, he gripped Caleb's shoulders between his knees, steadying him and gripped his head with his hands. Using strength I didn't want to know about, he twisted, tearing the part demon's head off.

The body flopped to the ground, utterly dead, as soon as Eric stood back from him to throw the head in the trees where it couldn't be found. He didn't bother doing anything else with the body, he just left it, turned around and ran for the house. Less than a second later he was knelt beside me in a pool of blood in my living room.

"Blood," I whimpered to him yet unable to move. I was still knelt down, curled over slightly in a protective stance, and holding the blanket to the wound. I didn't even know if it was doing any good anymore. "She needs your blood. She has to live." It was a strange thing to notice but I saw a streak of blood in his hair and a single droplet on his cheek from where he'd ripped Caleb's head off. "Not a vampire." I added. I knew my Gran didn't want to be a vampire, she had nothing against them, she just said she was too old to live out eternity. "Heal. Please!" I pleaded with him.

He simply nodded and raised his wrist up to his mouth where he tore his flesh with his elongated fangs, leaving a bloody stain around his lips. "Adele," he stated loudly. "This might not work." He cautioned me quietly and I couldn't do anything in reply. He lowered his wrist to my Gran's mouth, holding her jaw open so the blood could flow in. I watched, unable to do anything to help, and waited for the reaction I wanted, no needed, to happen. She swallowed. "Did you call an ambulance?" Eric asked, turning his head to look at me. It hurt to see the sympathy in his eyes, it meant that the situation really was as bad as I thought.

"Yes." Gran swallowed again, and I wasn't sure but it seemed to be stronger than the first one. "How much..." I stuttered out and had to pause to swallow back a sob. "How much can you give her?" She'd lost a lot of blood and she was taking in a vampire's, I didn't know how much she could take without turning.

"Not much more." His face was grim as he spoke, eyes gazing at the pool of blood we knelt in. "Adele, drink, you need to drink more." He coaxed sternly, his voice loud. She swallowed again and then twice more, taking a few seconds between each before he pulled away. "That's all I dare give for now. If she makes it I can give her more, when she has more human blood in her." I nodded at him, wishing that it wasn't the truth and that he could just fix her.

Nothing about her seemed to have changed at all; she was still deathly pale, blood was still oozing out from between my fingers and the bruises were as dark as ever. "Her heart is beating stronger," Eric explained, somehow knowing what I was searching for. "The ambulance is almost here."

"The body, they can't find a demon body." He nodded once, kissed my forehead quickly and gently pressed down over my hands to urge me to keep on applying pressure before he left. I didn't bother watching him out of the window because I just couldn't care enough to watch what he did with the body or where he put it. I stared down at my Gran, the gentle rise and fall of her chest as she took in breaths. The blood hadn't visibly healed her in anyway but it had bought her time, given her heart and lungs strength to keep on fighting. Hopefully it would be enough.

The ear-piercing sirens didn't register as the ambulance made its way up the drive way and I didn't respond when a man shouted from the front door. I couldn't actually form a response until there was someone kneeling down beside me.

"Okay Sookie, you're doing real good. Keep the pressure right there for another minute." The man was my age but fresh faced, the world obviously hadn't shown him the horrors that it harboured and in that moment I was jealous. I didn't feel anything else for a split second because I was so jealous of the man beside me that it consumed me. He'd never been in mortal danger more times than he could count, he'd never been kidnapped or shot at, he'd never had to flee a country for fear of being killed and he'd certainly never had to hold a relative's insides in while they clung to life by a thread. I watched in stony silence as the man, whose name I would learn was Rolf and his partner Kim, worked quickly.

She placed a cannula in my Gran's arm, hooking it straight up to a drip bag and then set about applying a blood pressure cuff followed by a pulse oxymetry to her finger. Rolf eased me out of the way, gleaming white gauze pads held in his hands, so that he could take over for me. An oxygen mask followed that. At least I think that's the order that everything happened, by that point my mind was so mixed up that I couldn't really be sure. All I knew for definite was that within a couple of minutes they had my Gran hooked up to a couple of machines, a drip in her arm and an air splint over her arm to protect it from any further damage to supply support.

"Are you coming with us?" Kim asked as she jogged past me out of the living room door. I didn't reply until she came back a moment later with a slim stretcher in her hands.

"Yes."

"Then you need to be ready in two minutes." I nodded numbly and just continued doing what I had been doing; watching the proceedings from my seat next to the sofa, my back against the arm. It was while they were easing her frail body onto the stretcher that Eric burst into the room, still only clad in his jeans and a wild look in his eyes. "Holy shit, stay away!" Kim screamed in panic as she scrambled back away from the vampire.

"I have a cross!" Rolf shouted. Nobody said anything about his pathetic statement; crosses did absolutely no good in warding off vampires, they were even less effective than throwing water balloons at them.

"No," I mumbled and realised that they couldn't hear me. "No, he's with me." I croaked a little louder. "It's okay." Neither of the paramedics looked entirely convinced but nevertheless they went straight back to taking care of the life in their hands.

Eric padded over to me where he carefully pulled me up until I was standing. His arms wrapped around me, pulling me into his cool chest. I stood there limply, arms by my side as I watched the paramedics work. He kissed the top of my head and it was right then that I felt him. He was breathing. His chest was rising and falling, air flowing through his lungs. I didn't even realise it at first but my own breathing had slowed down to match him. He was calming me.

He didn't bother saying anything, he never once uttered that everything would be okay and I was thankful for that. Neither of us could be sure if everything would be okay and I couldn't handle a lie. Slowly I wrapped my arms around his waist and clung to him for dear life.

"He can't come in the ambulance with us, there's only room for one accompanying person."

"Okay." I muttered, still not letting go.

Kim and Rolf walked past us, carrying the stretcher expertly between them. It didn't register with me that I had to follow them and so it was Eric that steered me out of the house, only one of his arms around me now so that we could actually walk. I never moved my arms at all, I clung desperately to his waist even as we descended the porch steps.

"Sookie, we have to go now!" Rolf called out, one of the back doors of the ambulance already shut. Obviously it was Kim that would be driving us to the hospital.

"Sookie, go on. You need to go." I nodded, but I didn't move. Moving was too hard, moving meant facing what was happening and I wasn't sure if I could handle the outcome. "Go on. I'll meet you at the hospital." He kissed my forehead again and then eased my hands from the grip around him. With a gentle coaxing hand I made it into the ambulance. The doors shut with an almighty bang behind me.

I plopped down onto the available chair, clipping my seatbelt into place with a subconscious part of my brain controlling me. Rolf never stopped working; all the way to the hospital he was doing something. He never stopped talking, he was always either talking to my Gran or trying to reassure me. I didn't have the guts to tell him that he might as well stop talking to me; I didn't actually hear a word he had to say.

My Gran never moved at all. She never regained consciousness during the ride to the hospital and I sat there, with bile rising in my throat and tears streaming silently down my cheeks, praying for what we'd all done to be enough to save her.

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**So what did you think? You know i love feedback almost as much as i love a certain viking vampire :) Please don't hate me for this chapter, i felt really bad writing this about Gran. I think she's an amazing character and was killed off too soon in the books. Remember i'm a sucker for happy endings. **

**I hope everyone had a wonderful New Year, and that New Years Eve is blast. I actually have a date with someone for the special night. One of my friends, we've liked each other for awhile now but we live, due to uni, at opposite ends of the country and so we've never done anything about our feelings. However, for NYE we're giving in. This also happens to be the reason for a thursday update.  
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**Oh, and the full title for this chapter is You Can Sit Beside Me When the World Comes Down, which is taken from the All American Rejects song Mona Lisa  
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**Thanks for reading, until next week. **

***hugs*  
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	18. Lather the Blood on Your Hands Romeo

**Hey guys, **

**how are you? Did you have a good new year? I know i did ;) i also happened to have a very good tuesday in which i spent the entire day (put it this way we watched all 3 lord of the rings films back to back) snuggling up with a certain someone. Thursday I had an awards ceremony at college; got my A level certificates, science award *best overall performance in science) and a biology award for which i got some book tokens too. I do have a damper to the end of my week though; it started snowing while i was out in town this morning, by the time i managed to get back to my car, it was really bad. I ended up skidding across a road, luckily there was no on coming traffic and i was fine, but i ended up abandoning my car because there was just no traction on the road. She's now recovered though with help from my Dad's pick up. I was supposed to be going out for a meal with my friends before we all went back to uni. Oh yeah, i'm headed back down to London on sunday so the next up date will be coming from down south :)**

**And! England have won the Ashes! We won the series 3-1 and the best part, we did it in Australia, something we haven't done in quite awhile. In fact as i type this i'm watching the highlights.  
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**I want to say a massive thank-you to my betas campyrs and trajedy99, couldn't do this without them. Charlaine Harris owns the wonderful Southern Vampire Mysteries. On with the chapter!**

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"Miss, you can't go any further," a doctor told me sternly, not even bothering to glance up at me from the chart he was inspecting. A nurse grabbed my shoulders gently, holding me back, since the doctor's words hadn't really sunk in.

"Go wait in the waiting room sweetie, you can't do anything more for her now except keep her in your thoughts. Surgery is going to take a few hours at least, just go and sit down." I was spun around them and shoved ever so slightly in the direction of the waiting room.

I walked numbly in the direction I'd been pointed to and ignored the stares I got along the way. Gazing down at myself I found that my white Merlotte's shirt was crimson with more carmine coming into play where the blood had dried and, although I couldn't actually see the blood on my black trousers I could feel the stickiness of it against my skin. I didn't bother trying to clean anything away, my clothes were ruined, but the worrying thing was that I didn't bother trying to cover it up when I reached the waiting room, full of the usual injuries and worried family members.

I had no idea what I did while I sat there, I couldn't recall a single thing that I thought about; I just sat there, waiting. It was only when a cool arm wrapped around my shoulders to pull me into an equally cool chest that I realised that Eric had arrived and that he'd kept his word. My fingers clung to his shirt until my knuckles were white and my muscles ached in response to my grip. I couldn't let him go.

I shuffled into his lap where I curled up, knees pulled up to my chest and my feet resting on his thigh. His arms altered their grip until one was around my waist the other around my shoulders, pulling me in as tightly as he could to his chest, my head tucked underneath his chin. Tears streamed down my cheeks again as I sat in his lap, hoping the pain would just stop. My eyes remained closed while I sat there, the tears seeping out between my eyelashes to leave wet trails over my skin.

"Shhh," he soothed, keeping his voice low so that it was more of a vibration in his chest that an actual sound. His fingers worked to smooth the wisps of hair that had escaped my pony tail back from my face. Eventually, an definable amount of time later; my tears eventually ran dry, not because I wasn't hurting anymore, far from it. The longer I waited the more it seemed like hope was abandoning me. I just didn't have any more tears to cry at that moment. "We need to get you cleaned up." I nodded numbly against his chest yet didn't make any attempt to move at all.

Slowly he stood up, not caring that he was carrying me in his arms with everyone in the waiting room watching us, to take me to the disabled restroom down the corridor. Once inside the room he locked the door behind us and set me down on the counter top next to the sink. He had to peel my fingers from around him so that he could move away. I heard running water and when I turned my head I discovered the sink was full with hot, steaming, soapy water.

"Give me your hands." His voice held just the right amount of authority to make me heed his command and I held my hands out for him, palms up. He grabbed a stack of paper towels from the dispenser, dipped them in the water and began to mop the dried blood from my hands that had mainly flaked away by this point. The water quickly turned a murky shade of red-brown.

After three fresh sinks of water that was almost scalding hot he sighed, a very human sound from a vampire, and put the paper towels down on the side. His hands came to rest on my shoulders and he stared me straight in the eyes. I was shocked; I didn't know I was actually able to feel anything new, at the amount of care I saw in his eyes. "Sookie, you need to snap out of this. This is not healthy." His hands squeezed my shoulders, to the point that has grip was bordering on painful.

"I can't." It was the only response I could manage to mumble out. "I can't feel anything," I whispered.

"Fuck. Sookie, you have to feel!" My eyes fluttered shut again but no fresh tears came. "Lover, look at me. I said, look at me!" His voice grew in volume and strength until I was forced to open my eyes and stare back at him. There was a fire inside the deep blue depths now. "You have to feel something, let yourself feel something. I've got you. You can feel now. Later you have to be strong for you Gran. Feel." I just gazed at his eyes as he implored me to let myself feel something as though it was my fault that I was in this zombie state.

I wasn't sure what it was that made something inside me snap. One second I was just sitting there on the counter, Eric's face a few inches away from me and then I realised that it _was_ me holding everything back. Just like I'd got control of my mental shields I was now protecting myself from the events surrounding me. I was cutting myself off from the environment in an effort to protect my brain from further damage. The only problem was that what I was doing to myself that was causing the added damage.

"You're safe with me, Sookie." I knew he was speaking the absolute truth and that nothing could happen to me while I was in his arms. He never saw the path my thoughts were taking; I was almost at the conclusion of allowing myself to feel when he took action to get me there quicker. One second I was watching him from a few inches away and then he was kissing me. He was forceful, strong and passionate as his lips moved against mine. He pushed me back into the wall with his strength, his hands holding my face in place. His lips were crushing, pushing my own lips back into my teeth. "Feel." He mumbled against me and acting on pure instinct I kissed him back.

That was all it took to let the gates open to my emotions. I broke down, a silent choking sob wracking my body and he instantly pulled back to sweep me up into his arms. He leaned back against the wall and gently lowered us to the floor, keeping his back to the cabinet door. I wept in his arms; bone jarring sobs sent spasms through my body. I cried for everything that had happened to me and to my Gran, not just the recent memories but everything that had plagued us for years.

"I have you." He didn't say any words of comfort at all. Instead he simply held me tightly to his chest, whispered that line into my ear in every couple of minutes and continuously stroked my hair back from my face. He mopped up my tears, so that none ever managed to fall from my face, using the soft paper towels or his finger tips. When he kissed them away it only made me cry harder for some reason and he never tried that again. "You are safe."

My mind kept trailing down the thought path of what would happen in my future if my Gran wasn't in it. Thinking about that made it feel like there was a knife ripping through my heart. I'd lost my parents when I was very young, I retained fewer memories of them as I grew older, which meant that my Gran really was everything to me. I couldn't allow myself to think about a future without her in it, it wouldn't be productive. I would only think about that if the situation should turn out like that.

Eventually my tears subsided and my sobs lessened until they were barely hiccups. I clung onto Eric tightly, one hand grasping his waist underneath his jacket and the other wrapped around his back where I had his hair twisted around my fingers. I opened my eyes slowly, they felt raw and my vision was still slightly blurry, to find my vampire gazing down at me. He placed a sweet kiss to my forehead and gave me an extra squeeze which I gladly returned.

"Shall we finish cleaning you up?" He actually posed it as a question, keeping his voice soft and quiet, barely above a whisper. I nodded my head in return.

"Thank-you," I whispered into his chest, squashing my face into the soft material of his shirt so that his scent would wash over me, helping to calm me down even more. I didn't elaborate on what I was grateful for because there was so many things. Another kiss, to my hair this time, indicated that he understood me perfectly.

He never put me down, he simply changed his grip around me so that he also supported my legs and then he was suddenly standing up, placing me on the counter top again. I finally pried my hands away from him to inspect them. They were mainly free from blood; only a slight tinting remained around my fingernails and in the creases of my palms. My forearms still had some spatter along them. We didn't speak as he once again went through the process of using gloriously hot water and paper towels to wash away the remaining bits of blood until there were no traces left.

"Take my shirt." He stated and in breaking the silence that had stretched between us he made me jump. He didn't say he was sorry but the soft look in his eyes told me that he hadn't intended to shock me.

"What?" I croaked out. I swallowed, shook my head and tried speaking again. "Why do I need to take your shirt?" My voice was stronger but you could still tell I had a lump in my throat from the tears I'd shed and the fear that accompanied waiting.

"Yours is ruined." His statement was simple but I still didn't comprehend what he was getting toward. Before I could ask another question he slipped his leather jacket off, hooked it onto a peg behind the door and pulled his black shirt off over his head, causing his muscles to ripple. I was still frowning at him when his hands grabbed the bottom hem of my shirt and tugged it off me. It felt both horrible and wonderful to be rid of that clotted material; it felt terrible as it peeled away from my skin and was pulled over my head but my skin felt fresher just for being exposed to the clean air. At any other time I would have taken advantage of us being in a locked room and shirtless, now I just sat there, the thought of doing anything had not even crossing my mind. "Here." He handed me his shirt and slipped his jacket back on. Everything finally clicked into place and I pulled his shirt on. It wasn't comfortingly warm, he didn't have body heat, but it was his and I could smell his unique scent without having to pull the fabric up to my nose. It was like wearing a security blanket.

There was nothing that could be done about my trousers but at least I couldn't see the blood on them and since it had dried it did feel better than before.

"Can we go find a doctor?" I had no idea how much time had passed, I just had a feeling that it had been a couple of hours so they would hopefully have an update for me.

"Yes." His large hands grabbed my waist and he carefully lifted me down to the ground. I found no reason why I couldn't have just slid off myself so his only reasoning was that he wanted to touch me. I liked that idea. As soon as my feet hit the floor I wrapped my arms around him again, stood on tip toe and planted a kiss at the little hollow where his collar bones met his neck.

"Wait." My frown returned until I saw him pick up my bloodied shirt and dispose of it in the clinical waste basket. He was the perfect gentleman and held the door open for me, even allowing me to hold onto his waist as we walked back toward the waiting room. His arm never left my shoulders. I noticed as we passed a few people glaring at us; I couldn't bring myself to care that we'd been hogging the disabled restroom. I needed it and there were plenty of others to utilise.

"Excuse me," I asked a nurse that was just standing around, reading the back of a packet of medication. She barely glanced up at me. "Can you help me please?"

"The check in desk is back to the left, tell the triage there what's wrong and you'll be seen appropriately."

"Oh no, that's not what I need." She didn't give me a chance to add anything else.

"Then you need to go and wait in the other room." Eric growled, a primal sound that caused her to snap her neck up, a terrified look in her eye.

"What is the status of Adele Stackhouse?" He kept the bass edge to his voice as he stared at her, not even needing to use his compulsion to get her speaking properly, the box in her hand forgotten.

"Are you a relation?" She stuttered.

"I'm her granddaughter."

"I'll go and find out for you." She whisked away to into the main emergency room ward, through the double doors to where they held the cubicles.

I wiped my eyes again and I was glad that I hadn't looked in the mirror while I was in the restroom; I knew I looked dreadful and there would be nothing I could do about it. The hiccups that had plagued me since my sobs had subsided and were also beginning to weaken.

"Jason." I whispered, not believing that I hadn't thought about my brother before now. "Shit!"

"Who is that?" Apparently I hadn't mentioned my brother, at least by name to him.

"My brother. He's the only family we have left, he needs to know. He'll want to be here." He pulled his phone out of his jeans pocket and handed it over to me.

"Hello?" My brother asked after five rings and he sounded out of breath. In my head I just kept telling myself that he'd been using his indoor gym at ten o clock at night.

"Jason."

"Hey Sis, I'm kinda busy right now, I'm going to give you a call back later."

"Wait!" I nearly screamed at him. "It's Gran." I whimpered out; I didn't have to be strong until later, my brother was older he could be strong for himself.

"What is it?"

"Just come to the hospital. I can't tell you over the phone. I'll see you later." I felt bad for Jason, he would be worried, but he would be even more worried if I actually told him what had happened, it also wasn't news to be given over a telephone. Just as I hung up the nurse came scurrying back, keeping her eyes downcast.

"Ms Stackhouse, your grandmother is still in surgery. I'm afraid I can't give you any more news than that. You are welcome to wait up in the surgery wing's family room; it's more comfortable and less crowded up there. Go to the elevators through here and to the left, it's the top floor. You should see it straight across from the elevator." She nodded at us and walked away as fast as her professionalism would allow.

"Do you know anything about medicine?" I asked Eric as we walked quietly through the emergency room ward to get to the elevators. His arm was still slung around my shoulders, guiding me and I was grateful because I hadn't retained any of her instructions as I'd been stuck on the fact that my Gran was still in surgery.

"No. I have never felt the need to learn before." My question probably had been a little stupid; vampires didn't get sick at all apart from hep D, sun burn or silver poisoning and normal human doctors couldn't do a damn thing to help them, apart from donating some blood. Vampires tended to not get emotionally close enough to humans to bother needing to know medical training so as to help them if they were sick; many vampires had relationships with humans but few extended beyond feeding their lusts.

"What do you think it means that she's still in surgery? It's a good thing right?" I sucked in a deep breath for the count of three, held it and released it slowly so as to slow my heart which was threatening to burst through my ribs. I had to keep it together now, at least no more sobbing.

"I do not know lover. To me, if she is still in surgery, it means that they are still fixing what is wrong, that there is definitely still hope that she can be mended." The elevator finally arrived at the top floor and we exited, immediately finding the family room which was shrouded in darkness. Of course there would only be emergency surgeries being performed in the middle of the night and visiting hours were over ages ago so there should be little need for family to be around.

The room was rather bland; pale blue walls, dark blue carpet and dark blue soft furnishings decorated the place. The small coffee table, to go with the electronic hot drinks dispenser tucked away in the corner, held magazines that had long since passed their issue date. I chose to sit down on the sofa and rest my head against Eric's shoulder when he sat down next to me.

"Have you had any blood today?" I asked, surprised by how groggy my voice sounded.

"No. I woke straight from my sleep, I felt your panic and fear, and came straight here after I'd finished at your house."

"Do you need some?" I didn't feel like donating but he had definitely done a lot for me in the past couple of weeks.

"No lover. I spilled blood today and that will tide me over." I glanced up in time to see a happy smirk spread across his lips for a split second before it was replaced by the stony expression he'd been wearing since I'd first seen him tonight. I could only hope that he'd been picturing ripping off Caleb's head, hell that was almost good enough to make a ghost of a smile cross my lips. It did happen to remind me about something that I had felt off about last night.

"How come you slept in my bed last night? You could have been disturbed." It was actually helping to keep my mind occupied with other thoughts.

"I fixed the shutters after you fell asleep and nailed them shut and the blinds were shut. Even if someone got through your locked door it would only be indirect sunlight. I deemed it safe enough for someone as old as me." I squeezed him with one arm around his waist to show my appreciation for spending the entire night beside me and letting me wake up next to my loved one.

I heard voices, two deep male voices that I instantly recognised; Eric and Jason. I couldn't believe that I'd fallen asleep in the waiting room, I hadn't even realised that I was tired but it was probably more like emotional exhaustion that had put me out. I didn't open my eyes straight away and I concentrated on keeping my breathing deep and rhythmical, feigning sleep. Being awake was tiring and I would have to be strong, put on my brave face. Asleep, or even just pretending to be asleep felt like everything that was happening was somehow less real and that helped.

My head was resting on something. It actually took me a second of thinking to realise that I was laid out on the sofa with my head resting on Eric's thigh, his hand resting on my waist. There was something draped over me and to find out what would mean really waking up, something I didn't want to do especially since it didn't sound like we had received any further news.

"How long have you been here with her?" My brother asked, the distance of his voice told me that he was sitting across the room. If I knew my brother he was leaning forward with his elbows resting on his knees and his fingers pointed together.

"Since just before eight." Eric's reply was quiet; he was taking care not to disturb me. "She spent a lot of time alone in the ambulance on the way here." It was quite difficult to believe that my brother and my vampire were having a polite conversation.

"Shit man, and they still haven't finished? Damn." I had no idea what time it was but the last time I remembered looking at my watch it was nearing eleven and I felt like I'd been asleep for awhile so we were running into at least the fifth hour of surgery. "Can I ask you something?" There was no verbal response from Eric yet Jason soon started speaking again so I assumed he'd nodded his consent. "Did you kill the fucker that did this?"

"Yes."

"Good." Eric wasn't one to share his emotions and he never did anything that he didn't want to do. He'd already been out of character tonight with the sheer amount of tenderness he'd shown while taking care of me. I kind of expected everything to come crashing down where it came to him yet everything was still in place, he was still here.

The door opened up and my eyes immediately snapped open. A doctor, surgical mask still tied around his neck and wearing scrubs, had entered the room a solemn expression on his face. Swallowing audibly I sat up; this was the moment of truth.

"Hello, I'm Doctor Shepherd, I've been helping your Gran for the past few hours." I didn't like his use of the past tense. My hand slipped down to Eric's leg and gripped, tightly. "She made it through the surgery." Relief flooded through my body, my breath left my lungs in a whoosh and my grip loosened. "However," and then it came rushing back into me with the next word. "She's still very critical and isn't out of the woods yet. The knife nicked her spleen, which is why there was so much bleeding, and a minor artery. If it had penetrated even another few millimetres I would have been telling you different news.

We removed her spleen, sealed the damaged vessels and stitched her up. We've also managed to internally fix her broken arm. We don't know if she'll need further surgery on it yet or not, we'll take another x-ray in a couple of days to be certain. She's been taken down to intensive care; she has a room of her own. You can go and visit her now but prepare yourself; she's been sedated so a machine is breathing for her and she has several lines in for her medication and so that we can monitor her closely."

"Thank-you." I whispered emphatically, which garnered me a small, tired smile before the doctor turned around and left us alone in the room. "How do we get to ICU?"

It turned out that none of us knew, Eric had never been to this hospital before, and my brother had only ever been to the emergency room. We couldn't find any nurses to help us so we set out for the elevators and tried reading the maze like map of the place. Of course we eventually found it yet I wasn't sure if I actually wanted to proceed. The doctor had warned us it wouldn't be a good sight and if she was heavily sedated I had no idea whether my Gran would actually know we were there; I wasn't sure if I could take it seeing her so frail. I had to remember that she'd made it through the operation and that she was a fighter, she could do this.

"We're here to see Adele Stackhouse," I told the nurse that was stationed at the desk, filling out charts, by the entrance doors. All around us the sound of electronic beeping filled the air along with the gentle whirring of oxygen flowing through nearby machinery.

"She's in room 314, just down the corridor to your right." She didn't bother asking us if we were relatives and I gathered from her mind that she didn't want to question an obvious vampire and that this simply had to be the group the surgical wing had warned her about. It was only when reading her mind that I realised my shields were down and I had no recollection of when I'd relaxed them; I couldn't remember reading anyone else around and that it might have been a good idea to get more information out of the staff. I shook the thoughts from my head and set off down the corridor.

The room was exactly where the nurse had directed. The blinds were fully drawn so I couldn't even peek in for a glimpse to really prepare myself so, taking a deep breath, I pushed the door open and walked inside.

I wasn't prepared at all. My Gran was laid flat on her back in a hospital bed that seemed to dwarf her petite frame. The tubes sticking out of her formed a knot that I couldn't even begin to fathom. A monitor mounted to the wall above the head beeped rhythmically and displayed figures that corresponded to measurements I didn't know about; the only two I recognised we blood pressure and heart rate. Both wrists were bandaged with clear tubes coming out, one led to a drip while the other seemed to be a dead end cannula. Another similar contraption stuck out of her neck and was linked with her blood pressure monitor; I had a sick feeling it was leading down to her heart from the carotid artery, measuring more accurately her blood pressure. The scariest tube was the large one emanating from her mouth, the one that was feeding her body with the oxygen she was too weak to get herself.

My feet carried me on autopilot to her bedside where I immediately sat in the chair that had already been pulled up by the staff in anticipation of visitors. I clutched her small hand in both of mine, resting my forehead against the joining.

"I'm here Gran, its Sookie." I whispered out. I was aware of Jason taking a similar position at the opposite side of the bed. A single tear rolled down my cheek, I blinked the rest back quickly, which I wiped away on the bedding; I couldn't let anyone see me cry again. There was nothing more I could do now, except sit here and wait with her, a permanent vigil while she tried to heal.

At some point during the night Eric sat down beside me, the only contact between us was his hand resting on my thigh to tell me he was still there even though I could feel him. A nurse occasionally came in to read the monitors and to administer additional medication yet I never managed to say anything. I'd long since memorised what each machine was stating and nothing had changed since we'd been here; her heart rate had fluctuated slightly but had always returned to what I'd originally seen. I was going to take no change as good news at this point, unless a doctor told me otherwise.

I never moved from where I sat, the only time I really shuffled was to reach for the coffee that Jason brought up from the cafeteria at about four. We hadn't spoken another a word to each other, there was no need. The hours passed by in quietness, the only sounds our breathing and the beep of the machines. Eric went into his downtime at some point; I don't really recall when I just knew I didn't mind. He'd switched off completely, sunk inside himself, but it was enough for me to know he sitting beside me in a hospital, watching over someone he barely knew. I still couldn't comprehend why he was still here.

"Sookie." The deep voice whispering my name shocked me enough to make me jump, it had been so unexpected. "I need to talk to you privately." His eyes flickered over to Jason who was completely oblivious and dozing in exhaustion with his head on the bed beside our Gran's shoulder.

"Sure," I croaked out, my voice a little dry from lack of use in the past few hours. I took his hand so that he could lead me to where he deemed to be private enough which turned out to be this ward's family room. "What's wrong?" I asked, and even I noticed the rush of more worry I'd felt when he said he needed to talk to me had leaked into my voice.

"I need to go." My eyes widened at his words; he'd been here for me through so much and now he decided to bail. "Dawn is just over an hour away and I need to get back to Shreveport." I relaxed at his explanation which should have been what I'd anticipated anyway; he couldn't stay at the hospital during the day, it wasn't safe. It showed how discombobulated my mind was, through everything I'd been through in the past thirty six hours and my exhaustion from not having enough sleep the past couple of days. "I will be back tomorrow night. If your location changes call me." He chose his words very wisely and for that I was grateful, it was almost as though if I didn't say, didn't hear or didn't acknowledge I was thinking about the option of my Gran not being here anymore it couldn't happen.

"Thank-you," I told him earnestly, infusing as much emotion into the short statement of gratitude I could muster. I stepped toward him slightly, so the inches between us were erased and let my hands go up to rest on his muscular shoulders. Then I stood up on tiptoes and kissed him, softly and slowly. He kissed back, his hands going to my waist to support me. It was me that pulled back first, to wrap my arms around him in a tight hug and I slyly sniffed in his scent, letting his calming presence wash over me before he was gone for the day. "I'll see you tonight?" Although it was a statement it came out sounding more like a question.

"Yes, lover." He kissed my forehead once and then he walked swiftly from the room, leaving me alone to stay strong.

When nine rolled around Jason had to leave to go to work, I was to call him if there was even the slightest hint of a change but he said that working would keep him occupied which was healthier for him at the minute. I couldn't blame him, keeping my mind occupied would be a very good thing right now too, yet I still had to sit by her side, holding her hand to try and help her through this. So I was left truly alone.

I didn't do much all day; I sat in the chair, paced around the room, drank coffee and napped, fitfully, in an exhausted heap. Time passes strangely in hospitals; one day it drags as though an hour is a week and others an entire day can pass like it's only an hour. Surprisingly, even though I was waiting for something to happen, the day passed remarkably quick and before I knew it mid afternoon had arrived which brought our first visitor, someone I really hadn't expected.

"Oh Sookie, I came as soon as I could." Arlene burst through the door, if I hadn't had my shields partially down to keep an eye on what the nurses were saying, she would have scared me right out of my chair with her loud entrance. "I'm so sorry hunny." She flung her arms around my shoulders while I was still sitting down causing me to barricade my brain against her thoughts before I could even hug her back. She gripped me tightly, swaying and patting my back as she did. "Any news?" She finally stepped back and pulled a chair up for herself next to mine after giving my Gran's hand a careful squeeze. It was actually nice that she was here; perhaps I hadn't lost my friend after all.

"Nothing really. They still have her sedated so that she can heal and apparently it's easier to manage her like that. They say if she maintains her condition for another twenty four hours they'll lower the sedation so she can breathe for herself." She gave me another hug, for which I was very grateful.

"What happened? Please tell me it weren't that vampire." There was a play of emotions of her face; worry, guilt, fear.

"No, he saved her actually." I was convinced that the blood that Eric had given her was the reason she was still alive now, it had given her enough strength to pull through. Which reminded me, I hadn't heard any mention of the police and I had no idea why. I never mentioned an actual attack but this was a stab wound, I thought it was protocol to investigate things like this.

"Oh, that's good. Are you hurt?" Her eyes raked over me, taking everything in.

"Yeah, just a little..." my voice trailed off because I couldn't describe how I felt. The main overriding emotion I was currently feeling was guilt; it had been creeping up on me all day.

"Well if you need anything at all, you just let me know." Someone else walked into the room then and I turned around to look; the nurse had been in only twenty minutes ago and they were only due hourly. I found a middle aged man walking in, a bouquet of flowers grasped in one hand. "Oh, Sweetie you found us. Sookie this is my new boyfriend George, George this is Sookie."

"Hello," I stated cautiously. "I'm really sorry about this but they have a no flowers policy, it's a pathogen thing." I smiled at him and reached out to take the flowers from him so that I could take them out to the nurses, one of them could put them somewhere they were allowed. As I reached, out my fingers brushed up against his and I jolted back. "No," I whispered.

This wasn't the time for politeness and to be wary of personal space. I dropped the flowers, letting them fall carelessly to the floor and flattened my hands against the side of his face.

"What are you doing?" Arlene and George asked simultaneously. I ignored them; I ignored everything in the room and focused on what I could hear in my head. I pulled away from him like I'd been stung, the pain was almost physical.

"Arlene, watch out for my Gran, call Jason. I have to go." I ran from the room as fast as my tired legs would carry me and I didn't look back even once. It was only a minute later then, as I stood outside in the car park that I realised I didn't have anything with me; no phone, no car, no keys, no money. "Shit!" I said a little too loudly, causing the people nearest me to turn around and stare. I rushed back into the main entrance and found the pay phone, instantly dialling the reverse call number followed by Merlotte's.

"Hello, this is Merlotte's, Sam speaking."

"Hey Sam."

"Hey Chere, how are you feeling? How is your Gran doing?"

"Sam, I don't have time for this now. Can you give me a ride to my place? Now?"

"Er, yeah." He pulled the phone away from his ear, covered the mouth piece with his hand so that it was muffled, I assumed so he could ask whoever was on duty if they could cover for him. Sam knew it was urgent, I rarely asked for favours like this. "Yeah, I'm on my way. Hospital right?"

"Yes, I'm waiting in the main car park. Thanks!" I hung up quickly and dialled the number for the other bar, Fangtasia, this time.

"Hello, you've reached the bar where life begins at night. We're currently unable to take your call right now, please leave a message after the tone." I screamed internally; this was not what I needed. I had to speak to someone; well it could only be a human since the sun was still blazing in the sky. "Hello this is Sookie Stackhouse. Eric Northman needs to hear this message, call him as soon as the sun sets. He is in danger, the whole bar is in danger. Don't open tonight, please. There's going to be..." and another tone cut me off, signalling that I'd reached the time limit for the message. "Shit!" I muttered again. I hung up and jogged outside, eyes searching the car park for signs of Sam even though I knew it was way too soon for him to be anywhere near.

I had roughly an hour before the sun set and the bar would open which meant I had less than an hour to get to Fangtasia which, from this point was at least a forty minute drive away. I had to get to Eric in time. I was already on the brink of losing one important person in my life, I couldn't lose another.

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**So what did you think? What do you think's going on? How sweet is Eric in this chapter? You know i love feedback almost as much as i love a certain Viking vampire. **

**This weeks title, Lather the blood on your hands, Romeo comes from the My Chemical Romance song The Sharpest Lives. I'll be honest and say i couldn't think of a title and that is a line from the song i was just listening to :)**

**This story is beginning to draw to its close, i'm not sure how much is left, i just know it's not all that much really. **

**So, thank-you for reading, and for all the reviews, it really makes my day when i got those email alerts :) See you next week!**

***hugs*  
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	19. Crazy Angel

**Hey guys, **

**how are you doing? I'm sure some of you will be surprised to find this here on friday night, i honestly thought it would be saturday by the time i posted this. I ended up leaving a party early, stomach bug thing, and i had some free time on my hands so here is the next chapter. It's also down to my wonderful betas, campyrs and trajedy99, who got this chapter turned around in epic time. Really big thank-you to those two. This chapter is slightly shorter than normal and i also have to admit that this is the penultimate update, there is only the epilogue left after this one. I already have a few ideas floating around in my head about the next story i can write :) **

**Oh yeah, you know how i said last week this would be posted from down south in london? Well it isn't, i ended up coming back up north for a friend's party. He's going on a gap year in a week's time so i had say goodbye. Next week it will be from London. Damn i love that city. Anywho, Charlaine Harris owns the wonderful Southern Vampire Mysteries and on with the chapter? I think quite a few of you will love the last couple of lines ;)**

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"Hey Sookie, what's going on?" Sam asked when I jumped into his truck before it had even come to a complete stop. I waved my hands in a rolling motion to get him accelerating, we had to be moving so that I could speak; the need for urgency was over taking my tired body.

"Fucking Fellowship of the Sun," I muttered, putting extra emphasis on the expletive. After taking a breath and fastening my seatbelt that I had a feeling I would need when we hit the main road I began to explain. "You know how they had plans to attack a vampire in vengeance for what happened in London?" He nodded. "Well, it's not Sophie Anne. What vampire did we overlook that is ultimately more powerful and respected than the Queen but yet isn't actually in a position of high power? Who also happens to live even closer to the Fellowship headquarters in Dallas?" I was picking at the dried blood flakes on my trousers as I spoke since I was completely unable to just sit still.

"Eric." He replied back instantly with regret in his voice, probably feeling that he should have thought of this before.

"Eric," I stated, confirming his answer. "They're planning on attacking Fangtasia tonight; sometime after full dark. They know Eric's schedule, they know that he will be there as soon after nightfall as possible. They want as many Fangbangers in there as possible, even tourists. They just want to kill everyone." I was trying desperately to reach that place I'd been in last night where my emotions were distant, where I wasn't feeling everything so finely.

"What are you doing Chere?" I had a feeling he wasn't talking about my current actions in the car.

"Well I'm going over there. I'm going to get my car and my stuff and high-tail it over there." When I heard my plan spoken out loud it became evident it really wasn't the best idea I'd ever had but the consequences of doing nothing didn't bear thinking about. "You can't talk me out of it, don't even bother trying." I watched his shoulders sag and the loud sigh leave his lips as he knew I was right. I could be ridiculously stubborn and he'd known me for long enough to realise that when I said I couldn't be convinced otherwise, there really wasn't a snowball's chance in hell.

"Promise me one thing?" He ran a hand through his hair sending the strawberry blond strands into complete disarray.

"I can try." It was the best I could give him.

"Stay out of the bar as soon as full dark hits; I need to know you're not going to get seriously hurt."

"I'll try." It was the best I could give him. I wasn't just going to save Eric, I would of course be going if it was only Eric in danger but I would also still be going if it was just the Fangbangers in danger. I hated the Fellowship. He nodded again, dejectedly, and placed both of his hands back on the steering wheel. The rest of the journey to my house was spent in a rather tense silence that I didn't have the guts to break; nothing I said would help what he was feeling now because I couldn't say the things he wanted to hear and mean them.

We made very good time to my house, better than I'd anticipated yet still not quite fast enough. As soon as the truck pulled to a stop outside of my front door I flung my arms around his neck in a big hug. "Thank-you." I squeezed him tighter, gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and pulled back to exit the car. If he said anything in return I never heard it. I was actually standing outside of my front door before I realised I didn't have a damn key on me and remarkably the front door was locked which meant Eric had somehow locked it behind him when he left for the hospital. If he hadn't given me the key personally he'd have had to leave it behind somewhere. I didn't have any potted plants or any hooks underneath the windowsill where I could keep a spare key and when I checked under the mat I found that he hadn't left it there either. Spinning around in order to go around the back where I could hope the back door had been left unlocked I saw a slither of silver glinting from beside the rocking chair. Bending down I found the key Eric had used to lock up left partially obscured by the cushion on the seat.

Scrambling, I managed to get the front door unlocked and I ran straight for my room, needing desperately to change out of my trousers. I grabbed the first pair of jeans I could find and I'd changed in less than twenty seconds, having had to try my hardest not to glance at the horrible rust colour that stained my legs. From my room it was a run to the living room where I usually kept my bag down beside the sofa and hidden behind the door. I didn't get very far; my bag wasn't in its usual place and the pool of congealed blood spread out underneath the radiator was almost enough to make me gag. As it was a wave of guilt for leaving my Gran alone with Arlene and George washed over me even though I knew nothing could happen to her from outside hands in the hospital and that Jason would most likely be getting there now.

It was only as I staggered from the room that I remembered I'd left everything in the car that wasn't even parked up here but rather down by the road, hidden on the grass verge. I hadn't seen it when I passed. I jogged out of the back door, wanting to be as quick but also to preserve my energy. There, parked not three meters from the back porch was my car. Inside was my bag and the keys were still chucked on the passenger seat. Why he'd felt compelled to lock up my house but not the car was beyond me. At the moment I wasn't going to question this; not having to run down the long drive was definitely a good thing.

Less than two minutes later I was hurtling down Hummingbird Lane, trying desperately not to lift my foot off the gas pedal since I knew I wasn't in any danger of getting pulled over by the police. The police in Bon Temps had their monthly meeting this evening. I had the radio tuned to a classic rock station which allowed me to sing along, loudly and out of key, to try and distract myself safely while still keeping a tempo that was suited for speedy driving. My hands were shaking badly, forcing me to grab the steering wheel tightly and honestly it was probably a miracle that I wasn't swerving all over the road. If I kept this up for much longer I'd drive myself off the road; I wasn't safe to be in charge of machinery.

In: one, two, three, four. I counted slowly in my head during a song I didn't know. Out: one, two, three, four. I concentrated on my breathing and slowly my heart began to ease its pace and my breathing didn't feel like I was gasping for breath.

_Bat out of Hell_ got me to the outskirts of Shreveport where I finally had to lift my foot off the accelerator slightly and to the point where the sun was disappearing behind buildings. The bar would be opening about now. I grabbed my phone from where it laid, on the passenger seat already set up to dial Eric's number so that all I had to do while driving was hit dial and speaker phone.

"Northman." At first I thought he'd actually picked up and I even began to scream his name before I realised it was just a personalised voice mail I'd reached.

"Eric, its Sookie." I wasn't entirely sure why I felt the need to clarify; surely he'd recognise my voice by now. "If you're awake, pick up." I let all the urgency and fear fill my voice so that if he could hear me he'd know that in no way was I jesting. "I need you to trust me; I can't explain this over the phone." Rather I didn't want to because it hurt too much with everything I'd been through and I had a sinking feeling he'd do something to resolve the immediate situation while making everything ultimately worse. "You cannot, I repeat, cannot go to Fangtasia tonight. When you get this message call me immediately. I'm heading over to Shreveport right now. So _please_ don't go to Fangtasia." I didn't get a chance to add anything else as the phone beeped, signalling I'd reached the end of the allotted message quota.

"Damn answering machines." I muttered and continued to drive, praying that Eric would get my message in time and heed it.

I forced myself to slow down even further as I reached Shreveport properly; houses and commercial properties began to line the streets while the roads were becoming more congested with traffic. At least I was recognising the businesses which meant I could track my progress with the shop fronts I was passing. Hope began to seep into my veins as I drew closer, the sun was barely above the horizon now but I was only a few of miles away. I could get in time. "You can do this Sookie." I chanted to myself repeatedly, knowing that I needed the affirmation to keep my nerves and get through this. I couldn't sing anymore, I needed more concentration than that allowed while driving through the city streets. Beside me on the seat my phone rang, the loud sound audible even over the stereo.

"Hello? Eric?" I couldn't look at the display; I only had the chance to answer it on speaker phone. I silenced the music using the few controls on the indicator stalk.

"Hey Sook, its Jason." I groaned, loudly. "What's up?"

"Jason." I felt terrible for what I was about to say but there was no way I could keep quiet, Jason would forgive me eventually. "I need you to get off the phone. Now." There was an edge of a menacing growl to my voice, showing that I meant business.

"Sookie! Wait! What's going on?" I just couldn't pluck up the courage to hang up on him in mid sentence. "I just got to the hospital and Arlene said you'd high tailed it out of here like your life depended on it."

"Gargh! How is Gran? I have to go to Fangtasia. Fellowship stuff." I was rambling, trying desperately to be on the phone for as short a time as possible, just in case Eric tried calling me back. I was also due to call the bar again; someone would be able to answer by now. I turned right at an intersection to find myself essentially parked on the street with no sign of movement.

"She's the same, critical yet stable."

"Okay, I'm going now." I averted my eyes from the road to glance down at my phone since I still hadn't moved an inch to quickly hang up before my brother could say anything else. "Come on!" I screamed. The music was still switched off so my outburst, accompanied by my hands bashing down on the steering wheel earned me worried stares from the drivers in the surrounding cars. Up ahead I could see a road works sign that indicated the usual three-lane highway was being condensed down to a single lane and to top it off, the general flow was under temporary traffic light control. The hope that I'd begun to desperately cling to was beginning to leave me.

It was just as I began to count my breathing again that the cars in front started easing forward. Due to all the cars moving in from the right, the quick burst of light I'd felt dissipated quickly as I only moved one car length. I was just over two miles away. It would be faster to get there on foot. The highway was lined with businesses, shops and outlets stores, each of which had their own parking lot; I simply had to get in one.

The next time the traffic began to move I maintained an almost bumper to bumper position with the car in front; I wasn't going to let anyone in. We crept forward, inch by excruciating inch as cars further down the line managed to bully their way in. It was only by about three feet that I missed the turning for the first parking lot turn on the left hand side. "Oh flip," I mumbled to myself, somehow managing to pull an expletive from a British show I'd seen. "Stuff it." I added with more confidence.

I spun the steering wheel, not caring what it would do to my tires and then revved the gas to get the car up onto the sidewalk, partially anyway. I held my breath, as though that would make my car smaller, as I eased past the car in front, the driver of which was glaring at me with clear panic written across his face. I ignored it as much as possible, concentrating on my wing mirror that was too close for comfort to his. Somehow I managed to squeeze by without incident and spin the car into the parking lot.

Parking would be an over statement of the way I left my car, abandoned would be much closer to what actually happened. I pulled into the first available space, not bothering to check that I was within the lines of the bay, and threw on the parking brake. Grabbing my bag and phone from the seat beside me I jumped out of the car and set off at a fast jog down the road towards the bar; all the way rueing myself for not knowing a faster way of getting there on foot because I was sure there must be one.

My feet pounded the ground and I'd barely gone three hundred yards before I began to curse not staying in better shape. Yes I was healthy but would it really have killed me to visit the gym regularly or even take a jog through the trees and fields that surrounded my home? I kept going, ignoring the burn that started to rise up in my lungs and instead focused on my breathing once again, keeping each breath rhythmic and as calming as possible.

I grabbed my phone and dialled Eric's number, going straight to voice mail once again. All I said this time was call me before hanging up. If he hadn't got the idea by now he never would, no matter how many messages I left him. He should have been awake; the sun had set as far as I was concerned and he was so old it was barely a constraint on him anymore anyway. Since he'd taken my blood and I'd had a little of his, he would also be able to feel my distress, he would definitely know I was getting closer and closer to him, provided of course he was either at Fangtasia or lived very nearby.

Cursing inside my head I dialled Fangtasia again. At least this time someone answered although I wasn't entirely sure whether that was really a good thing since it was one of my new least favourite vampires that answered.

"Hello, you've reached Fangtasia where life begins at night with a bite."

"Hello, its Sookie Stackhouse, is Eric there?" Of course at this point I wasn't entirely sure who I was speaking to although the smooth tone indicated it was a vampire.

"No he isn't. What do you want?" Her demeaning, snivelling tone as soon as she heard my voice reminded me of where I'd heard the voice before; Carmen, the vampire that had rudely hung up on me the last time I'd been trying to get Eric's help. I didn't have any cause to trust her that he wasn't there this time.

"Look, I just need you to listen to me. Trust what I say. The bar is going to be attacked by the Fellowship of the Sun. They don't care that humans will be in there." I paused for a second to gasp in a large breath so that I could actually breathe and continue to run; I was amazing myself that I was still running at the same pace. "They want to kill Eric." I swallowed after I said that sentence, he'd become a pivotal part of my life so quickly and he'd showed his true merit after what he'd done to help me and my Gran. He'd stayed with me. "I need you to get everyone out of the bar. Now. We don't really have enough time."

"How are they supposed to be attacking?" Her voice held an edge of suspicion; I just couldn't tell whether she was checking out the crowd to find strange behaviour or whether she was cautious about my words.

"Bombs." I whispered as quietly as I could. It wouldn't be good to state that word lightly on a city street. "Do you believe me?"

"No." With that she hung up leaving me panicking as I ran. My heart was thumping in my chest, and I could hear the blood rushing through my ears as it pounded through my arteries. There wasn't anything else I could do. I didn't have the strength to speed-up; my muscles were beginning to cramp up with overuse so it was all I could do just to keep going. I'd already run at least a mile.

I called Eric again, never having taken the phone from my ear for more than a couple of seconds, and this time it went straight through to voice mail without a single ring. It was dark on the streets now, the departed sun cast no light at all and the moon had yet to rise properly into the sky. Low clouds blanketed the sky, at least that meant it would be a mild night, and the illumination came from the street lamps and car head lights. I ran as fast as I was able, straight down the street that Fangtasia was situated on. I could actually see the mall that sat in the same complex; the bar was nestled in the corner obscured by the larger building from my angle.

I put my head down, watching where I was planting my feet. It was then that I heard the first explosion. A massive bang resounded through the air, so loud that it sent me stumbling sideways as I looked up to find out where it had come from. I couldn't see anything; nothing seemed to have changed. I knew what it had been, there was no way that it could have been anything else. The Fellowship's assault had started; I was too late.

I didn't stop running though. If anything it spurred me on, with every successive bang of an explosion I made my feet pound into the ground faster than before until it felt like my muscles were on fire. I didn't need to see the bar to know what was going on; a putrid stench of burning filled the air as I got closer and a cloud of smoke puffed up into the air. Also, more importantly, were the minds I could hear just ahead of me.

"Another one! Throw another one!" He was literally speaking his mind, the exact same words were spewing from his mouth and I could see one of his friends pulling back his hand to throw another round metal device into the devastated building. It was almost as though I was seeing through someone else's eyes, I couldn't understand how I could keep planting my feet on the ground without falling over, when I saw the homemade grenade explode as it made contact with the ground just inside a wall that had already been blown apart. The aftershock was immense, the ground rumbled and I felt the man whose thoughts I was invading stumble with it. The rest of the wall remained intact but the remaining furnishings were splattered against walls and even the ceiling. All around the inside all I could see was a reign of fire and smoke. "Shit! Sirens!" I heard again, this time I knew it was just in his head. "Guys, move out!" I felt fear grip every one of them as they ran backward toward their cars to get away from the crime scene.

I blocked down my shields, I didn't need to see their getaway; it was becoming hard enough to move towards the devastation without knowing that the criminals would get away. I could hear the sirens now. The police were on their way and would get there soon after me since they could get through the traffic with their blaring lights and sirens.

I kept my head down as I came into view of the bar, I'd already glimpsed what had happened, I didn't want to fall at this point. I needed to actually get there. So I ran until I hit the edges of the car park. It was only then that I dared to actually lift my head to survey the scene.

The first thought I had was that Fangtasia had been lucky, it was still standing after all, but when I looked closer I couldn't help but think that it might have been better if it had all come down. The entire front wall was essentially gone. The part of the roof it supported was now inside what I'd call the entrance area behind the coat check, which gave a view straight into the bar. The bar itself was ablaze, all of the alcohol going up in flames and the occasional bang as a glass bottle exploded. The tables, chairs and booths were barely recognisable; some seemed to be just mere splinters on the floor while the booths seemed to have maintained their hard backs which separated them while losing everything else. The memorabilia which had lined the walls was nowhere to be seen. Apart from one corner, the far right opposite to where the offices were was remarkably intact. I could still make out a single table and two chairs, although they had been knocked to the ground, and a few posters clung desperately to the wall. I finally brought my eyes to look at the office entrances; the door was lying on the ground to the side and the wall that separated the passage way from the main bar had a large hole in it that you could see through. The same destruction was visible, as much as I could see through the thick smoke which was beginning to consume the place, as the rest of the bar.

There were bodies lying on the ground, obviously trying to get toward an exit and one man I saw in a full-black fangbanger outfit was just lying on the ground as though he was somehow asleep in the middle of the rubble. I would later discover he'd had a piece of metal from the Fellowship bombs lodged into his spine and head, effectively killing him instantly. At least he hadn't felt pain. I couldn't see any of the mess on the ground that would indicate a vampire death; there was no blood or charring remains that were distinctly human.

I couldn't get inside through the front; I could hear the walls and rough groaning under the strain of trying to keep standing, so I made my way around to the back. The thudding of my heart and the ache in my muscles was pushed to the back of my mind as I tried to see if I could see anyone. I found people, quite a lot of them, around the back of the building in the staff parking lot, some clinging to each other, others looking as though they were in a daze and even some beginning to wander away from the scene. There were no fellowship members left in the area and I couldn't see any vampires.

"Have you seen any staff?" I asked the first person I came close enough to speak to. Her dyed platinum hair now had a sheen of grey from the soot and her ashen face told me that we would need much more than a couple of police units here. She simply shook her head and even laying a hand on her to figure something out directly from her brain didn't yield anything. She was in a state of shock so deep that I didn't know what to do to help her. "Sit down." I commanded her, putting as much authority into my voice I could muster through my slight gasping after the exertion of running so far. I shielded myself as much as possible before clamping my hands down on her shoulders and forcing her into a sitting position on the curb that lined the raised grassy areas around the edge of the parking lot.

I turned back around to survey the destruction to the back of the bar. The dust, fire and holes told me that it had been an attack from all sides, with not even the back staff entrance being free. There was a hole leading straight into Eric's office, about three feet off the ground and it took part of the roof with it. How the building was remaining up really was beyond me. I peered through the gap, as much as I was able to with the sharp brick edges and smoke billowing out of the room.

"Sookie?" A woman called out behind me, a question in the tone. I whirled around to find a vampire that I had never seen before but I would never forget her voice.

"Carmen." I replied, not bothering to hide any of the distaste that I felt. It was strange but that calm that I'd felt last night seemed to be returning to me; I wasn't complaining too much at the minute, I still seemed to be functioning perfectly well, it was more keeping myself distant from the proceedings around me than not caring.

"What's happening? You knew before this happened, what do I need to do?" I'm sure my face portrayed the complete and utter shock that I felt because she added on a small explanation. "Eric said that we were to always do whatever you said when it related to an emergency situation when he wasn't around. I managed to get as many people out as possible; we just didn't have enough time."

"But you said you didn't believe me!" I finally took her in; she was a petite vampire; shorter than me and waif like in her appearance with her skin pale, even for a vampire, and skinny to the point that she looked ill. Her clothing was bedraggled, ripped around the edges and scuffed.

"I didn't. But I had orders, so I followed them." I could tell she was a young vampire, thirty years old at the most which was probably the only reason she'd taken any order from a human without extreme duress from an elder. At least that explained why so many people had gotten out relatively unharmed. I couldn't bring myself to think about the people I hadn't been in time to save. Right now I had to think about Eric. "

"Is Eric here? Was he in his office?" I swallowed around the last word.

"He was supposed to be in his office, I just never saw him. I spent my entire time out front, I'm staying in the basement as part of my punishment, it's the only reason I'm here at this time."

"Where's Pam?"

"She took off after the attackers as soon as she was free of the rubble."

"Shit. Are there any other vampires around?" I didn't want to be helped by this vampire, I really didn't trust her.

"We lost our bar tender. He was standing next to the man who detonated the first device. The only other person that could be here is Eric." I turned back toward the wall that I'd just been about to peer through.

Smoke billowed up near the ceiling, a pitch black plume, even though I couldn't see an actual fire. The metal filing cabinets were contorted from there angular shapes while the wooden desk and drawers were in pieces, scattered about the floor. The soft leather material of the office chair was barely recognisable as it lay over the largest remaining piece of desk, obviously having been separated from the metal chair base which rested near the door. The door itself was missing, thrown from its hinges to rest in some unknown depth. I finally saw the flames, licking at the door frame from out in the hall. Nothing could have survived being in the room. I could see silver shrapnel sticking out of the carpet, some resting on top of the broken surfaces. The Fellowship had known exactly how to hurt vampires the most, using silver bombs and people who didn't mind being the detonators themselves. My eyes finally came to rest on the centre of the floor, where I'd seen a glimpse of a dark red pool that I hadn't dared to look at first. I was out of other places to search and my eyes finally came to rest on the centre of the room. A bloody pool, full of thick tissue took up the size of a person. A vampire had died in that room. It was the room where Eric was supposed to be. He'd left me.

"No! Eric!" Pure anguish, as though I'd been ripped in half filled my body.

"Sookie?" I heard Carmen ask, her voice sounded as though she was far away. I didn't respond in any way, how could I when my world was falling apart for the second time in as many nights. I stumbled back from the hole I'd been looking through, letting my feet carry me to an unknown destination. Shock gripped my body in a vice grip, taking over from the pain I'd instantly felt. Shock was better; it hurt less. I had no idea how I came to be sitting on the grass, my back against a small tree, staring at the destruction of the bar. Police were now littering the area, all talking to people or talking on phones, doing their job as best they knew how; no one had ever seen anything like this.

The first tears began to fall as I stared at everyone around me, not really seeing anything. Blackness was beginning to seep in around the edges as my brain tried to spare me the pain of what I'd been through; I'd almost not made it through last night. Last night I'd had someone beside me to keep me strong, here I had no one.

"Sookie?" Another voice asking me something. I didn't hear anything after my name. I pulled my knees up to my chest to rest my cheek atop them, wrapping my arms around my shins so that I could look out at the road. I couldn't look at the scene in front anymore, even if I wasn't really seeing it. "Sookie?" A sob rang through my body and I bit my lip, trying to hold it back; if I began to grieve it meant that everything was true and I just knew it wouldn't just be Eric I was grieving for. It would be everything; again I would cry for everything that happened.

"Sookie!" This voice carried a different tone, almost desperate and I knew more words followed. "Sookie!" Cool hands clamped down on my shoulders, pushing me up into a sitting position again, my head lolling back to rest on the tree trunk. The blackness snapped back from my vision, giving me crystal clear clarity as I gazed upon the man I'd never expected to see. "Sookie, I'm here." Even through tears I could see his beautiful face with his strong features and gorgeous blue eyes, the blond hair framing his face. I didn't question what I was seeing, I didn't dare.

I threw my arms around his shoulders, throwing my entire body weight forward to engulf him in a hug that would be my support. My arms connected with his cool, strong body. My arms wrapped around his neck and my nose immediately began to smell him. He really was here; there was no recreating that scent, not even in my head. It was him. He hadn't left me.

"Eric." I whispered into him, my lips pressed into the skin of his neck. I felt his arms wrap around me, one behind my back and the other underneath my legs so he could pick me up to cradle me against his chest tightly. It was amazing how quickly my head began to clear. The anguish I'd felt for that split second before I'd shut down, was still lurking in my heart like a painful shadow and I still felt distant but I could think, they were my own thoughts permeating my mind. "You're here. How?" I mumbled, not having the guts to tear myself away from him for even a second. He was here.

"You have been very busy. I got your message." I tightened my grip around his neck, my only response to his words. "I spent the night closer to Bon Temps than my usual house which is why I wasn't here sooner even though I got your message." So he would have turned up anyway to protect his people and his bar. "They will pay for what they have done." I felt a growl in his chest and when I dared to look up at him I saw his fangs had run down.

"What?"

"I stayed in Bon Temps and when I woke up I got your message. There was no way I was staying away, leaving my bar unprotected. I tried calling you but you were on the phone with someone else. I could feel your distress and I could sense that you were heading here so I had to come. I got here later than I anticipated; I found this already done." He shrugged his shoulders; if he wasn't carrying me in his arms he would have indicated the entire scene before us and me.

"Who was in the office?" I croaked out, a little scared about the answer. I actually heard him sigh before he replied.

"Bill Compton."

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**So what did you think? Who honestly thought i'd killed poor eric in the middle there? I could never do that. Who loved that i killed Bill? It felt really good to write that lol. **

**This week's working title is What's the craziest thing you've done lately, from the Kill Hannah song Crazy Angel. The song referenced in the middle, Bat Out of Hell is obviously by Meatloaf, i love their songs for driving along to. **

**I think that about sums everything up. I do usually end up remembering something after posting that i meant to tell you but oh well. **

**Thanks for reading, the review emails i get really make my day and see you all next week. **

***hugs*  
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	20. Epilogue

**Hey guys, **

**How are you doing? I'm good****; I got a very high pass on the essay I was doing before Christmas which is very good indeed, one of the highest marks in the year. ****So, are you ready for the final chapter? I know I'm not. It's sad to see this end, I've had a lot of fun writing this and it's been an excellent exercise for my imagination. Quick apology, sorry i didn't get this out last friday, i was finishing up a competiton entry but it's here now, and i didn't feel like making you wait until Friday when I had it ready to go tonight.  
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**I want to say a hugely massive thank-you to my wonderful betas campyrs and Trajedy99, I really couldn't do this without them and they've stuck by this story to the end. And, they've agreed to continue doing their amazing job with my next story and shorts! I also want to say a big thanks to my loyal readers and especially to everyone who sends reviews; it's really appreciated and every little one I receive makes me smile. This has been my best received story so far so it's meant a lot. **

**This week's title is simply Epilogue because I couldn't think of a song that sums it up. If you want a couple of songs to listen to try Next Go Round and Animals by Nickelback, that's what I was listening to while writing a certain scene in this chapter. **

**I, of course, don't own the wonderful Southern Vampire Mysteries, it's all Charlaine Harris', I'm just having a bit of fun with some characters. Right, on with the chapter, it's a long one. **

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"So Gran, what do you think?" I walked through her bedroom door which was always propped open when she was asleep. She spent so much time in her room nowadays that she needed the extra light and opening so that she could see more of the world, even if it was just me puttering about the house.

"Oh Sookie, you look beautiful," she gushed and actually clapped her hands together in delight. I couldn't help but giggle along with her and spin around so that she got the full effect. It reminded me so much of a night not that many months ago when I'd been getting ready for my first American date with a certain vampire. A lot had happened since then.

"Who's picking you up tonight?" She knew every little detail about tonight, apart from that one and that was only because I hadn't known until about half an hour ago.

"Pam, she's going to swing by to pick me up. Eric is working from as early as possible. He won't let on properly but he's worried about tonight."

"Yes, well we all knew he would. It's a big deal for him; it was a good club by all accounts before that horrible affair with the Fellowship. He needs it to be in ship shape for the grand reopening." I nodded in response.

"So, Jason is coming over at about nine to make sure you're okay and to check that you don't need anything. You've got my cell phone pre-programmed into the house phone along with Eric's, Pam's and the bar's line. You sure you're going to be okay?" This must have been the hundredth time I'd asked her today, I just couldn't stop myself; I'd become rather over protective since she'd been discharged from the hospital a little over a month ago.

"I'll be fine, now you go and have a good time. Pam's here." She stared me down until I was forced to give her a kiss on the cheek and back track out of the room before she began telling me off again for fussing too much. Pam was indeed standing in the hallway when I turned around. She was looking her gothic best for the big occasion; she even had her hair piled up in a messy bun on top of her head with blonde tendrils escaping to frame her face instead of the loose hairdo she usually sported. She looked gorgeous even with the slight scowl on her face.

"You're lucky I like you Sookie or I wouldn't be here." I had to laugh at that just because of the blatant honesty she spoke with. "You sure you still want the other blond in our lives?" She asked while her eyes roamed over me, then she grinned broadly with elongated fangs. I simply laughed and shook my head as I shooed her out of the door; it was the only way I'd come to deal with her lesbian weirdness when it came to me. I grabbed my bag which I'd left resting on the hall table, picked up my heels since I was still wearing my black pumps in an attempt to be as nice to my feet as possible and said a final shouted goodbye to my Gran.

"Nice wheels," I commented as I slid into the low sports car that she'd obviously borrowed from Eric.

"Yes, he said that I could take the pick of his cars if I went to pick you up."

"Well I have to say nice choice." I patted the dashboard affectionately; I really liked this Aston Martin and it brought back some good memories with it. Memories that I'm sure would have had Pam picking a different car if she'd known about them at all.

"How is your Gran doing?" She asked after awhile.

"Much better, I think she's almost as back to as normal as she'll ever get."

"Still refusing to take anymore blood?"

"Won't take another drop. She told me that she thought she was dead that night, she never expected to wake up in the hospital. She says she wants to feel everything she can while she can." Speaking those words to Pam sent me spinning into silence with my own thoughts. It had been just shy of twelve weeks since Caleb had broken into my home and stabbed my Gran. She'd spent two months in the hospital due to her injuries, and the slow recovery they entailed. After the ordeal I'd suffered through at Fangtasia where I'd assumed I'd lost both people in a moment of utter despair, Eric had taken me back to my house, staying with me until I'd fallen into a deep sleep which hadn't taken very long at all.

"_Argh!" I screamed loudly as I shot up into a sitting position. I had no idea where I was or how I'd gotten there, all I knew was that it was comfortable and warm. I couldn't hear anything over the blood rushing through my ears. Cool arms wrapped around me, pulling me into a strong chest. I fought against the motion, not understanding what was happening, and feeling the urge to help someone. _

"_Shh, lover you are safe." Eric's voice washed over me and he turned my head around so that I could see his face in the gloom of my bedroom. Everything slotted back into place; the running, the explosion and finding him alive. Well as alive as undead vampire can be. "It is almost dawn. You need to sleep." I read between the words; he wanted me to fall asleep again so that I would hopefully sleep through until he was awake again. "We will go to the hospital and undoubtedly the police station when we awake." I nodded my head, not trusting my voice to not quake with the residual terror that still gripped me from my nightmare. He lay back down, pulling me with him so that I was snuggled into his chest, the top of my head tucked under his chin. Surprisingly sleep found me quickly, I felt safe in his arms and breathing in his scent definitely helped, and it wasn't until late afternoon that I awoke again. _

_I didn't bother moving from where I was, although I don't think I would have been able to anyway. Eric was lying next to me on the bed so that I was essentially wrapped up in his body; one of his legs was laid over both of mine, his arm was curled around my waist so that his hands rested on my shoulder blades and his other arm was underneath my pillow. It was a strange position to wake up in, one that I knew wouldn't have happened if he was human; a normal man would have rolled away at some point, needing space or to simply flex their muscles. I liked that he wasn't a normal man; it was the most normal relationship I could achieve and he was good for me. I settled back down into him, letting my face snuggle in as close as I could to his bare chest. Of course he wasn't wearing anything although I was sure he'd gone to bed wearing at least his boxers. _

_I dozed for the next hour, keeping myself relaxed by purposefully not thinking about anything involving reality; characters in my favourite book played out my favourite scenes, I thought about books I wanted to be made into films and anything else that I deemed as safe. It was instantaneous the shift between Eric being asleep and being awake, there wasn't the soft rousing that you see in a human. One second he was dead to the world, completely relaxed and the next his eyes were open and a healthy tension filled his muscles. _

"_Hello lover," he whispered to me, his voice showing only the slightest hint of sleep or tiredness and I had a feeling that was more because it hadn't been used in several hours. _

"_Hi." I croaked back and snuck my arm around his waist to give him a hug so that I could prolong the safety that I felt while I was wrapped up in him. I just knew that I was about to have to come back to reality where responsibility and guilt lay waiting. _

"_It seems that you have not moved either." I smiled into his chest, forgetting for a second that he wouldn't be able to see my reaction. So I pulled back enough for me to see his handsome face and place a chaste kiss on his lips, just to remind myself that this wasn't a dream, he really was okay. "We have half an hour and then I can take you to the hospital. You should shower." I wrinkled my nose up at his observation; I hadn't realised that I smelled though he did have much better senses than me and steaming hot water pounding down on me did sound good. _

"_You were running last night, and you have been stressed for far too long. I can still smell dried blood." I nodded again and this time it was him that captured my lips in a searing kiss that had me flat on my back, my vampire leaning over me with his hands on the mattress either side of my shoulders. "Would you like some company?" He pulled back just enough for me to make out his words and he gazed up at me through his dark eyelashes, his eyebrows risen inquiringly. _

"_I do but we both know that we won't leave in half an hour if that happens."_

"_Fine," he grumbled and kissed me again, this time his hands thread through my hair and his tongue slid into my mouth, exploring as though he didn't already know every inch of my body. It was just as my hands were beginning to wander down his back from his waist that he moved away from me, leaving me wanting more. "Go." He dismissed me but I couldn't help but smile; it was easy to tell when he was turned on and he was definitely showing the signs. _

_Slowly I sat up and swung my legs out of the bed to pad along to the bathroom. The air was cool, causing goosebumps to crawl across my skin and when I glanced down I found that my legs still had the dark red hue of the blood from a couple of nights ago. So much had happened. Not surprisingly I came down to Earth, after being in my safe cocoon with Eric, with a rather painful bump while in the shower. I knew then that I needed to get to the hospital, I'd abandoned my Gran to save other people so I wasn't too guilty about that but she was still in there because of Caleb who wanted me. I had to get back to her. _

_Eric drove like a maniac to the hospital and surprisingly I actually felt safe while he was doing it. He had unimaginable reflexes when the time needed them and his perception through all of his senses was heightened so we were actually safer driving fast with him than driving slow with me. Also, if a cop did pull us over we weren't even in danger of a ticket; human cops working on their own didn't like to run the risk of angering vampires if they could help it and Eric always had his compulsion to fall back on. So, it was with a time faster than ambulances that we made it to the hospital that evening. _

_When we walked into my Gran's room in the intensive care unit a few minutes later I was pleasantly surprised to find Jason slumped in an arm chair, dosing with his head resting back on the side cushions with his mouth hanging open. My eyes finally made it over to my Gran; she hadn't moved at all, well her position had but it had obviously been achieved by nurses making sure that she didn't get bed sores. The bruising on her arms was standing out even more, the broken one was actually more bruise than normal skin which turned my stomach. At least the bastard who had done this was dead. I sat down in a chair, the same one I'd used a couple of nights ago, taking my Gran's hand in mine so that I could hope she knew I was there. _

"_Hmmf." Jason's head lolled forward so his chin was resting on his chest, his neck at an uncomfortable angle. _

"_I will be back in a minute." I nodded at Eric, just assuming that he was going in the search of more True Blood since I'd only had the one bottle left in my refrigerator at home; it wasn't like I'd had the chance to go shopping in the past few days. _

"_Sookie?" Jason's voice broke the quiet of the room and I snapped my head up to look over at him. I'd known it wouldn't be long until he woke up when his head lolled forward. "You okay?" He came across the room and sat in the chair beside me, and I could see the temptation in his eyes to give me a hug yet he refrained. I clamped down my shields just in case he did. _

"_Yeah," I replied weakly because I honestly wasn't sure if I was yet. Things had definitely improved from the same time yesterday but they were also definitely not good. _

"_What happened yesterday?" _

"_Fellowship stuff. It's better if you don't know." He must have seen something in my eyes, the jaded look that I tended to get a lot these days that made him stay silent. If this had been last year he probably would have pressed harder for answers. "I had to go and stop some things from happening. It didn't quite work out. It's resolved though, for now at least. How is Gran doing?" Her monitor readings seemed to be hovering around the same sort of places as the last time I'd had a chance to study them. _

"_Pretty much the same although they said that's a good thing. They took x-rays of her arm again today, it's going to need another surgery but it can wait a couple of days until she's stronger. Her heart and lungs are doing good. I heard one of the doctors talking to a nurse earlier, said he was quietly optimistic."_

"_That's good." A comfortable silence fell over us then, just knowing that the other was there was enough to keep us strong. _

I shook my head strongly to clear it of the haunting memories and ignored Pam's sideways glance. Things had definitely looked up, in general anyway although there had been moments, after that; the second operation went well and my Gran's arm didn't need any further work. The doctors reduced her sedation slowly to bring her around and she healed well, if slowly, after that. Jason was definitely more attentive now; he would come around at least three times a week for lunch and he had developed a tendency for just popping in to see how we were doing. It had scared him, how close he had come to losing our Gran and I didn't need to read his mind to know that.

"You looking forward to tonight then?" I asked when she gave me another glance.

"Oh yes, we sold all of our tickets, it's going to be a full house. Stupid costumes again is the only down side." She took her hand off of the wheel to indicate the outfit she was currently wearing which really wasn't something she would normally wear. For a start it seemed to consist entirely of fake leather rather than the soft wools or cotton of her usual choice. I didn't give her any more appraisal than that because knowing Pam she would take it entirely the wrong way.

"How long will we have before people start arriving?" The sky was already pitch black, all traces of the sunset had disappeared long ago so that the stars were shining brightly above.

"They were already queuing when I passed. I've been meaning to ask, what happened to your friend Arlene?"

"Oh, it was a nightmare. She told him that I 'just know stuff' sometimes." I even used little air quotes to go around the quote from Arlene; she knew as much as any of my non-supernatural friends about my telepathy yet refused to call it anything like that. "He ran off, she never heard from him again. He found out that I was involved with the vampire they were trying to kill. When he knew the attack didn't go to plan he thought you guys might come after him."

"Which we tried to do." I nodded along; there was nothing I could do to persuade them against trying to find and kill another human. I still didn't have to like it and it was my only consolation. It definitely helped that he'd been trying to kill, although indirectly, my vampire and my friend.

"Anyway, she's sworn off men. It's going pretty well this time too; a blip near the beginning but it's now been about two months. I think this is the longest she's gone when she's said that."

After a few minutes of quiet had passed between us she turned toward me slightly to give me a miniature grin that lasted all of a second before her usual stony expression resumed. "I can't wait to see Eric's face when he see's you." I frowned at her. I wasn't wearing anything particularly fabulous, he'd seen me in better or less was how he actually preferred it, and Eric tended be very guarded with his expressions like most vampires. It was only when we were alone and intimate, where there was no chance of anyone else seeing him that he was truly himself.

"Why?"

"Well, it's been at least a week by my reckoning."

Perplexed, I tried getting another explanation out of her. "I saw him yesterday, what are you on about? What's been a week?"

"He gets grouchy so I always know." The lilt in her voice, even though it was only slight it was a big deal for her, gave away her meaning. My face instantly flushed crimson. "No one else can tell; I've just known him for so long that I pick up on the little things." She wasn't belittling how long and well I knew him, it was just a statement of fact. "You've seen each other regularly yet you've hardly had time alone. I haven't smelled sex on you in awhile." I purposefully stared out of the window, earning a laugh from Pam that made the heat flame in my cheeks again. Of course she was right; most of our time had been spent at the bar recently, getting it ready for tonight and overseeing all of the builders or decorators that were contracted to work through the night. We hadn't had the chance to be alone, not even in the new office due to everything he needed to oversee. Add onto that my work at Merlotte's; looking after my Gran and the fact that I just couldn't become nocturnal and still needed to sleep it just wasn't happening. It was another reason we were so looking forward to tonight. We had plans to leave Fangtasia at a reasonable time, for a vampire bar, and go to his place.

Soon we pulled into the staff parking lot and sure enough, we passed a long line of Goths that stretched around the building. Eric's Audi, the sleek black R8, was already parked in his designated parking space. I quickly pulled the pumps off my feet and pulled on the shoes that I just knew were going to kill me. However, it would be worth enduring them to know that Eric would love them.

We ignored the stragglers of the crowd who became excited at the sight of us, thinking we were both vampires. I kept my gaze down, so as to avoid looking at what used to be Eric's office. It wasn't that I'd discovered Bill's, finally dead, horrific body in there but that I'd thought it was Eric's, even if it was only for a few seconds.

"He's in his office." Pam called to me over her shoulder as she walked down the corridor to her own room, Eric's previous office.

"Come in lover," Eric called out just as I was about to rap on his office door. I pushed open the heavy door to reveal my vampire striding towards me from his desk where he'd obviously just been sitting. "You are beautiful." His eyes roamed over my body, taking everything in until a smile spread across his very kissable lips. Tonight I'd gone for a rather dark, gothic ensemble in the spirit of it being opening night. I took my jacket off slowly, for his benefit, to reveal the corset.

The base of colour of the corset was black while the pattern, Chinese style dragons with intertwining tails, was made up of different shades of deep purple. The front laced up tightly with black ribbon to emphasise my figure, pulling in my waist. I'd teamed it with a skirt that fell down to my knees, made up nearly entirely of layers of netting that splayed out if I spun around too much. There were just few enough layers that you could see the pale hint of my legs through the tiny holes if you looked. My modesty was protected by a miniskirt lining of a soft black fabric I hadn't identified. On my feet I wore four inch heels that had a platform of at least an inch so, I wasn't quite as worried as I could have been about breaking an ankle. They even had ribbon ties that criss-crossed my legs up to mid-calf. I would definitely fit in with the crowd tonight.

"Not so bad yourself," I grinned back at him and stepped forward to close the distance between us.

My hands immediately went up to tangle in his hair while his pulled me fiercely against him. Our lips met and I instantly melted against his chest as a small moan rumbled through my throat. His tongue moved into my mouth slowly, savouring every moment as it met mine. All too soon I had to pull away, needing more oxygen.

"Promise me we have later."

"You have my word." He kept his head bowed through the quick exchange, his eyes staring into mine, soft around the edges and the clarity in them let me see the absolute love there.

_We were snuggled up on the sofa. I was lying on top of my vampire, my arms stretched up above my head so that they were wrapped around his neck. We were both completely naked; our only cover a fleecy blanket that had been draped over our legs from our hips down. I was wallowing in the surreal state between waking and sleep, accompanied by the boneless feeling after several amazing orgasms. I hadn't quite been asleep but time wasn't meaning much to me, I had no idea how long we'd laid like this. _

"_Hm, lover?" Eric's deep voice pulled me out of my thoughts. I still didn't bother to open my eyes. _

"_Would you like to move to the bedroom?"_

"_Nope," I replied, popping the p slightly. "I'm good right here." I mumbled, stretching slightly and nuzzling my face into his chest. I could feel the light splattering of hair under my cheek. "Do you want to?" I stretched again, loving the feeling it created in my muscles. _

"_I am fine." He sighed appreciatively at my motions, causing a little smile to appear on my face. We both knew we'd be going into the bedroom at some point since this was the first entire night we'd had together since my Gran had come out of the hospital; Jason had agreed to spend the night over at the house with her. I could hear the stereo in the background playing some unknown music that Eric had once told me he loved. _

"_Eric," I started after a couple of comfortable minutes silence had past between us. _

"_Yes lover?" I finally opened my eyes and even moved so that my arms were folded under my chin, propping me up so that I could clearly see his eyes. _

"_I love you," I whispered to him. I'd known for some time, hell I'd been telling him every time I saw him in his daytime slumber. Recently I'd begun to see slight changes in him that made me think he loved me as well; he was protective, especially so when we were out together, his eyes were soft when he looked at me and his chaste kisses always seemed to linger. _

"_I love you." He replied back, the honesty showing through his eyes. A broad grin spread across my lips as I heard the words, an expression that was quickly matched by him, although his was decidedly fangier. It didn't take our lips long to meet in a searing, passionate kiss. Let's just say that we moved to the bedroom a little quicker than I'd thought even a few minutes ago. _

I kissed him again just because I could and wanted to. He responded by pulling me in even tighter to his chest and pressing against my lower back. It was a lazy kiss, less heated than before; full of teasing since we knew we had all the time we wanted later. We eventually pulled away from each other and I moved to hang up my jacket in the tall cupboard across the room.

"We need to go out onto the floor," Eric said when I turned around. He was, of course, wearing his trademark black although he was going a little fancier than normal as he'd foregone his usual leather jacket in favour of a suit style jacket that had upturned cuffs showing the lining of crushed velvet that could also be seen at the lapels.

"Okay." I walked over toward him and wound my arm around his offered one so that he could escort me. I made sure to keep myself slightly further back than him, showing a rather subservient side of me that wasn't actually like me at all; I could hold my own but for appearances I could cope for a little while. He paused just as we reached the sound proofed door that separated the back hallway from the main bar. In fact, the entire back rooms were sound proofed from the front and the walls were now reinforced so that any other attack on the main room would be unlikely to get through the connecting walls. The only way you could hear anything from the front room was by listening to the radio connection that could be streamed into any of the rooms back here simply by pressing a button.

"You know I love you." He whispered into my ear, his breath tickling the sensitive skin there. It never ceased to amaze me that if he wanted to, he never really did, he could make his body appear human, even with a beating heart. Of course he did actually have to breathe when he was speaking or he wouldn't get any sound.

"I know. I love you too." I replied, smiling up at him. It was his way of reassuring me because once we stepped through the door ahead of us he wouldn't be able to control the situation completely, no matter how hard he tried. He nodded once and pulled the door open, stepping through it first but still managing to hold it open for me.

I felt the eyes following us as we crossed the bar, going to one of the redesigned booths. My shields were clamped down and I had more control than ever over my telepathy so I blissfully didn't hear a thing, it definitely helped that I was touching a vampire; their blankness seemed to mask other minds. Eric sat down first, carefully taking my hand off of his arm before he did so. This booth was the one that was permanently reserved for him. I'd put my foot down at ever sitting at the foot of his throne, it just wasn't happening, so I'd tried teaching him the meaning of compromise. It turned more into bribery but I still got my desired result. He still kept his throne, well it was a new one since the other one had been blown up, but he only used it when I wasn't around or at least when I wasn't sitting with him. The booth we sat at was draped in regal red velvet, the sides were decorated ornately and overall it gave a bit of a pretentious air. It gave a good effect though for the people, fangbangers and tourists, who wanted to see a master vampire.

"Are you listening?" Eric asked me after the waitress, I was surprised to see it was one from before the incident who had stuck around, had left after placing our preferred drinks in front of us.

"No," I replied back. To anyone listening in it would just seem like a strange conversation between an annoyed couple. I nodded back at him after a couple of seconds, having decided that it wouldn't hurt too much to do some quick scans of the room every few minutes just to keep an eye on things. "Who's bar tending tonight?" I hadn't seen anyone when I glanced over there.

"Dave, I had to give him a pay raise." Bar tenders at Fangtasia tended to meet unfortunate ends.

"What happened to Carmen? I haven't seen her in ages." I hadn't actually seen her since that fateful night when she'd actually listened to me and started getting people out, even though she didn't believe me.

"She's working store room duties and then she will be on the floor." It was all I needed to know. I would never be friends with that particular vampire and I knew Eric had had something painful done to her, I heard him using the words silver and Carmen in the same sentence on the phone once, so I wasn't going to ask for more details. In the vampire world she deserved what she got; her punishment had been fair since she'd allowed harm to come to her master's human. "The bar is filling nicely." I took a glance around the room and it was indeed becoming full very quickly; the dance floor was already crowded with people gyrating to the loud music being pumped over the stereo system. Taking a sweep of the minds on the floor I could find nobody with any malignant thoughts so I shut down my shields and turned back to my vampire. "I ran into someone last night." I didn't like the tone with which he'd said that.

"What do you mean?"

"After you left here I went to visit Adyra." This wasn't going to be good so, I took a gulp of my drink, a Jack Daniel's and coke. "She has been staying with the Sherriff of Area 3 with whom I am on very good terms. Barely three hundred years old, the youngest Sheriff in the state. She actually called me telling me she was there on behalf of the Queen, checking that the Area was being run well."

"What did you do?"

"I took her fangs." I just stared back at him after his cool statement, said with indifference for the violence he'd committed.

"Will the Queen retaliate?"

"No, she was in the wrong, at least partially, so she has no ground to stand on."

"Okay then." I pushed the revulsion I felt at imaging a vampire being defanged, the blood that would surely be a part of it, and took another deep drink. He'd done what he thought was right, what was owed him, especially since Adyra had gotten away from him last time. She's actually gotten off lightly; I had no doubt that had Eric caught her when she'd tried kidnapping me that she would be dead, despite all the consequences that would probably bring.

We sat in silence for a few minutes, just observing the room around us yet I always seemed to pull back toward my vampire. He stared at me, keeping his face impassive as he did so, and then he turned toward the stage, moving his entire torso. That was when the stereo stopped, which actually only caused about half of the people on the dance floor to stop moving, and the live vampire band came on the makeshift stage that had been erected in the back corner, near the door which led to the back rooms.

The band was fantastic; you could never tire of listening to a vampire group. The crowd loved them too; they actually reminded me of a crowd that you would find at a big rock concert, moving to the beat without actually dancing. Arms were held in the air for most of the two hour long set, seemingly oblivious to energy draining and the sweat that I could see rolling down their faces. The music was contagious, even though it wasn't something I would normally choose to listen to, I found my foot tapping along and my head bobbing too.

"Still haven't changed your mind Sookie?" Pam asked me less than a minute after the band had retired for a small break, more for the benefit of the human crowd than themselves. She appeared in front of me, arms folded across her chest and a slight scowl plastered across her face although she must have been loving the night with the money they were raking in.

"Nope," I replied happily, earning a softening of the scowl.

"Any Fellowship in here?" From across the booth I heard Eric growl at just the mention of them in his club.

"No."

"What a shame, they were quite tasty the last time. I guess I'll just have to find someone else." At least I didn't blush at the connotations her last statement meant; I'd gotten used to Pam somewhat over the past couple of months and her innuendos didn't have much of an involuntary effect on me anymore. Her first utterance was about the night Fangtasia had been attacked and she'd taken up chase after them; she'd managed to get two of the idiots that had run away on foot, having abandoned their car. She'd covered her tracks well, actually using a knife to make marks that looked self inflicted so she could drink. She hadn't been as lucky with the rest of them, there'd been eight in total, but all the perpetrators had been caught within twenty four hours as Pam could identify them all. They were now all safely behind bars and wouldn't be seeing the outside world for the rest of their lives. It was a good job that they would be behind bars; they were safer in there. If they were ever released I had a feeling that Pam and Eric would hunt them down.

"In coming," I whispered about a second before I saw two, barely legally allowed in here, girls walking towards us with a false confidence that showed in the slight faltering of their strides. Eric nodded his head, barely perceptible to anyone else in understanding.

"Hello," he greeted them, his voice deeper than normal and his accent more pronounced too. They were doing well to get a greeting out of him, from what I'd heard he had a tendency to just waft them away with his hand like they were annoying flies.

"Hi," the first girl said clearly, taking another tentative step forward. I carefully let my shields slip enough so that I could find out what she wanted from her mind; it would be an interesting watch for me. "I'm Sam, this is my friend Claire. It's her first time in here and we wanted to know whether she could get an autograph? I already have Pam's; she wants something to prove that she was here."

"How about bite marks?" I couldn't help the jealousy that began to build up within me; I knew it wasn't going anywhere and he had been taking all of his blood needs from me for a little while now. Besides that there was a "no biting on the premises" rule that was strictly adhered to. He smiled at them broadly, showing of his fangs.

"Erm, no, thanks." Claire replied quickly, her hand going up to cover her neck before she thought better of it and brought her arms across her chest, folded. "I just really want an autograph or a photo. You're famous!" My vampire didn't say anything to that; he simply raised his eyebrows in questioning. "Everyone who comes in here speaks about you. You're the best vampire there is. Oldest too."

"I am very much aware of what I am." His eyes flittered over to me. "So, a photograph and an autograph is all you want?"

Sammy immediately pulled out her touch screen phone that had a camera option, which wasn't a good idea in front of vampires since they couldn't use touch screens, and motioned for Claire to get in place. This was what I'd been most looking forward to. Claire shuffled forward quickly to stand next to Eric who had slightly widened eyes, the only hint that he'd been caught by surprise by this turn of events. He stared at the camera, relaxing his lips enough for the tips of his fangs to show out. He didn't touch Claire, didn't even lean towards her in any way. The photograph was taken quickly but the power spark coming from my vampire didn't go unnoticed by me. I didn't hear what he said it was so quiet, and the energy he directed their way was gone before I could even get a grasp on what he was actually doing. Just before Claire turned around he handed her a napkin that had black marker scrawled across it, he'd been so fast I hadn't even noticed him writing it down.

"Thanks!" They chorused together, sending me a little wave as well although they hadn't directed anything toward me during the entire exchange.

"What did you do?" I asked, not bothering to mask the tone in my voice. I knew I sounded like the mother that had caught the child with a guilty look on his face.

"No one gets to keep photographs. They will be looking at it in the restrooms and will accidently delete it before they can send it to anyone."

"At least you didn't break the phone."

"Oh I have done that many a time too." I shook my head at him and let a small smile cross my lips; he was being rather mellow tonight. We returned back to our own thoughts as the vampire band returned to the stage, it was too loud to talk, well, it was too loud for me to hear anything he said. It wasn't long before I felt his hand on my knee underneath the table. From there his hand crept upwards until it was resting on my upper thigh. When I glanced over at him he seemed perfectly normal, not at all like he was stretching, with his attention turned toward the live band; I couldn't fathom how he was managing to do it. I uncrossed my legs and slid them forward so that my bare calves were pressed against the denim of his jeans, it also happened to allow him easier access to my legs. He didn't move his hand again apart from to give me the occasional squeeze and to trace light patterns in a teasing manner with his finger tips.

Suddenly his hand retracted and when I returned my gaze at him I found that he was standing up, moving so he could stand next to me. "We should retire to my office." He stated, leaning down so that he could say the words directly into my ear so that I could actually hear him above the music.

I stood up and threaded my arm around his so that he could lead me across the room to the door that led to the hallway which now needed a pass code and key to access it. I ignored the stares that we got as much as possible; I didn't need telepathy to recognise jealous looks as I disappeared into the back with the most eligible vampire in the bar. The door had barely closed behind us when he pushed me roughly up against the wall, his arms already wrapped around my back to protect me from the impact. Our lips connected instantly and a heat passed between us, a need for each other.

My tongue moved into his mouth, toying with his before I explored his fangs, running the tip across the sharp points. I almost dared to draw blood on them but I knew if I did we would never make it back to the office. His hands began to roam over my body, up and across my shoulders to trail his fingers over my neck before moving down to the corset where he played with the ribbons. I moaned into him, feeling his fingers through the stiff fabric and I could feel his gracious plenty digging into my lower stomach. He took the opportunity when I broke away from him slightly to gasp for breath, to move his lips from my mouth. He planted kisses along my jaw line toward my neck, following the line of one of the arteries there.

"Office," I managed to gasp out between breaths. My hands were now tangled in his hair, keeping him pressed to my neck while his roamed further down and around to grasp my butt. He didn't say anything in response; instead he just gripped me firmer and pulled me up so that my neck was now level with his mouth. My legs wrapped, as much as they were able, around his waist so that he could walk as well as possible. My head fell back as he sucked my skin into his mouth, letting me feel the sharp pressure of his fangs. One of his hands moved up my back to my neck, supporting me. I didn't even realise we were in his office until I heard the loud thump of the heavy door closing behind us.

He set me down carefully on the edge of his desk. Slowly he kissed further down my neck and chest, stopping only when he met reached material instead of flesh. When he looked up at me his eyes were deep blue, burning with an intensity that still shocked me to see. I had a feeling mine were showing similar things. My hands moved to rest on his shoulders because I simply had to touch him in some way. His hands moved to my legs where he quickly unfastened the ribbon ties of my shoes and threw them haphazardly across the room. My skirt was the next thing to go, he pulled the waist band down and I leaned back to lift my hips up so it could be discarded. I pushed his jacket off of his shoulders, letting it fall to the floor without another thought. He pulled off his plain black t-shirt, a movement which managed to show off the fine play of muscles on his torso. I kissed his chest, using my teeth to lightly scratch his skin while my hands grabbed at his pecs roughly. My reward was a deep growl that I could feel as well as hear.

"Lover," he moaned. His hands disappeared from my body and it was only when I pulled back from him so that I could kiss his lips again that I discovered he'd removed the rest of his clothing which left him beautifully naked in front of me. He grinned when he saw the expression on my face, showing off his fangs; I must have been wearing my feelings on my face. His hands pulled me more precariously towards the edge of the desk and he ripped the panties away as though they were nothing. If I was actually thinking with higher brain power I might have been dejected; they were very nice and rather expensive. As it was I just pulled his head down toward mine so I could capture his lips in a fierce kiss.

The last thing that stood between us was my corset. His fingers made light work of the bow that fastened the ribbons together and then he pulled, carefully, so that it became unthreaded. I was left with just a long piece of corset, draped behind me on the desk.

"Eric, please," I begged as he just stared down at my body. I groaned and pulled on his shoulders, urging him to touch me again. He flashed me a toothy grin and he stooped down slightly, so that he was in the correct position, and then he entered me in one fluid motion that hit every right spot within me. I couldn't help but moan loudly. His pace was fast and the anticipation, not to mention the week of waiting, had the tension already building within me. It wouldn't take much tonight.

His lips began to kiss my neck without any encouragement from me, finding his favourite place there to take blood. He couldn't actually reach his favourite place at the minute. His kisses became teasing, pulling my skin into his mouth to scratch with his teeth. His fangs pressed in to the point where they were about to break through into me and then he would pull back. "Bite me! Please!" I begged again, my head thrown back in pleasure. He didn't need me to say it again. His fangs bit down, hard, and he was in me in two places at once. I felt the suction as he drew my blood into him. He'd barely taken two swallows and then it was simply too much for me to handle; all the tension left my body in one big tidal wave of ecstasy that left me breathless and wondering as much as I was able to when it would actually end. As soon as I was able I started working with him and trailing my nails down his back, marking him as mine and creating the dash of pain that he liked. I was still only half aware when he joined me in the blissful state.

I snuggled up further; pulling my legs even tighter to my chest and gripping Eric's jacket a little tighter so that it would cover me up better. That was the only problem with naked cuddling with a vampire; they didn't have any body heat so it was a rather cool affair. I wasn't too bothered; Eric's arms were around mye, keeping me firmly in my place and my head was tucked into his shoulder with my nose pressed up against his neck so that with every breath I took I could smell him. He was doing a rather similar thing with my hair so it wasn't too weird of a thing to do.

"Hm, lover. You can still surprise me." He said quietly as one of his hands moved to pull one of my legs out so that it rested over the arm of the office chair and his hand could rest on the back of my upper thigh.

"Do we still have later?" I asked in reply; I was pretty sure that he wouldn't give up on the prospect of more fun but I had to be sure.

"I am not going to be giving up on that. You have my word." His hand worked further up and gave my bottom a tight squeeze before returning back to his original position.

"I like the new office." I stated after a couple of minutes had passed during which we just enjoyed having the other's naked body pressed against us.

"As do I, but what are your reasons?"

"It's comfier." I replied back, using the best way to describe the difference as I could. There wasn't really all that much that had changed in the general layout of the office. It still contained dark wood furnishings with the cupboards and filing cabinets all piled behind the desk and the usual bits of equipment were lying around too; computer, fridge, microwave. Only I now knew that the fridge stocked a few bottles of cola for me and that in one of the drawers of a filing cabinet were several snack items in case I got hungry. The new sofa, which was across the room, against the same wall as the door, was much larger and could pull out into a bed if necessary; that one I wasn't entirely sure if it was in case I wanted to take a nap while I was here or somewhere more comfortable for us when we weren't working, or both. Knowing Eric and his practical nature it was both. Essentially it was just a tad more human friendly than before. It was also a little larger; he had taken over the entire second store room and Pam's office, meaning it was about one and a half times larger than before. Pam didn't mind as she'd had an upgrade too.

"Do we have to go back onto the floor?"

"Possibly, depending on what time it is when we feel like moving." I giggled at his response because I knew I wasn't going to feel like moving for awhile; true feeling hadn't returned to my limbs yet. I knew he was feeling exactly the same; there was absolutely no tension in the body underneath me. Then it was shattered all to hell by someone knocking on the goddamn door.

"I swear to God, I'm covering every door I know with cotton wool." I grumbled loudly, not caring if the person at the other side knew what I was complaining about. At least I earned a deep chuckle from Eric.

"Who is it?" He pressed the button on the desk that connected to the intercom so he could speak to the person on the other side of the door. "This better be good." He added with a menacing growl.

"It's _Queen_ Sophie-Anne, let me in." The voice coming through the intercom just sounded like a sweet little girl but appearances could be very deceiving. I sighed audibly, not bothered that she might have been able to hear me through the microphone connected to the machine on the desk.

"It seems we will have to move after all." Slowly I stretched my legs out and sat up so that I could get up off his lap. "Where do you think you are going?" Puzzled I turned back around to face him. I didn't have long to contemplate as his lips connected with mine. The kiss held a promise of more things to come later yet it was still quite sweet, his tongue moving softly with mine. When he pulled back I gave him another chaste kiss before I stepped away to find my clothes which had been discarded.

I didn't bother looking for my panties; I knew they'd been ripped beyond all possible repair so instead worked on finding my corset and skirt. The skirt was easy to find, it was just pooled on the floor underneath the desk while the corset took a little more time. It was lying on the floor at the other side of the room, partially hidden underneath the sofa; apparently Eric had thrown it at some point although I couldn't actually remember it. I pulled it on as quickly as possible, threading the ribbons at the front through all the little loopholes and yanking them tight. I wasn't worried about looking good, as long as I was covered up, because I could fix it to its correct tightness once the Queen had left.

"Ready." I said I as I gave one final tug to pull it down slightly and into a better position. I could breathe much easier now, I was able to take a deep breath which I really needed, as I hadn't fastened it anywhere near as tight as earlier.

"It smells like sex in here," was the first words that Sophie Anne stated as she walked proudly into the room, her nose stuck up into the air. She sauntered over toward the office chair behind the desk but turned around once she was within a couple of paces of it, an expression of disgust evident on her face. She finally took one of the visitors' chairs, which thankfully put her back to me as I was trying to stifle a giggle.

"What do you want Sophie Anne?" Eric asked as he walked past me to take his seat in his office chair again. He was still bare foot and something about that made me smile; I liked to see a man, well more specifically my vampire, barefoot as it showed how relaxed he was. Knowing he wasn't worried about this intrusion helped calm me down. I sat down in the chair next to him; he'd grabbed the spare chair in the room and brought it to rest next to his.

"Well first of all, why has your office moved? No one told me." She sounded annoyed that no one had mentioned that little piece of information to her. My guess would be that she had been greeted at the door by Pam who hadn't told her just for kicks.

"A rather distasteful vampire died in there not so long ago. I did not want the constant reminder."

"That brings me onto the second point; I never received my entitlement after Bill Compton met his final death." This was the first I knew about any fee being owed to the Queen and I'm sure the nervous glance I sent Eric didn't go unnoticed by the Queen's beady eyes.

"I was not aware that you were requesting one. He had been released from his maker for decades and had sworn fealty to me. I am sure I can cover what fee you want." She eyed him for a few seconds and then nodded her head.

"Two hundred and fifty thousand dollars, plus three months interest." I balked as she said the figure; there was no way in hell that Bill had been worth that much.

"Fine." I needed to talk to Eric about that later.

"What were the circumstances of his death? All that was filed in the report was death during an explosion at Fangtasia during an attack by the Fellowship of the Sun. He shouldn't have been here."

"He was just filing some reports that he'd filled in. He was caught in the wrong place; he was on his way to somewhere in Shreveport for the night and stopped in. The fellowship attacked while he was here. It was a true accident."

"That's not even interesting." It was actually news to me; I'd been a little too emotional over his death and the situation surrounding it to question why he was in Fangtasia in the first place. I knew I had asked at some point and Eric had simply replied" work"; I'd believed him and thought nothing more of it.

"Why are you here Sophie Anne?" Eric asked, letting a bored tone enter his voice. His eyes seemed to portray, to me at least, that he was wishing he was anywhere but stuck in here with this vampire.

"I was visiting with Area 4 and heard about the grand reopening, I thought I would stop by to collect my dues."

"Fine." Eric got a faraway look in his eyes for a second, he was calling Pam in the way that only a sire could, before he turned his full attention back to the Queen. "Anything else?"

"Yes. Sookie, you are officially retired. You are too much trouble for what you are worth. You are still to come when we require special service, such as when another summit is called, but apart from that you may do as you want. Eric, she is yours." The entire time she was speaking she had a slightly wrinkled nose as though she was chewing on something disgusting. Meanwhile I was jumping up and down in my seat with excitement; well that's what I wanted to do anyway, her words created such relief. "You're just not as fun as you used to be."

"Is that all?"

"Yes."

"Then get out of my office." Eric's tone had changed from one of bored exasperation to frustrated rage in a heartbeat. He growled the words, his voice holding threat and menace that would make anyone squirm in their seat.

"Respect me as your Queen!" Sophie Anne bellowed out, her fangs shot out as she spoke, giving a startling view.

"I said, get the fuck out of my office!" Eric growled again and then there was a blur of motion as the two vampires flew, quite literally, at each other. My eyes barely had time to register them in the middle of the room; Eric had leapt over the desk in one smooth motion, grappling with each other before there was a loud crash as they thudded into the wall. The reinforcements would be put to the test sooner than I'd anticipated. My heart started beating faster but that was the only real reaction I had; I couldn't get in the middle of two fighting vampires, that would be suicidal, and I knew Eric would win since he was far superior. Once again I was glad that he had no desire to be King.

My vampire had his Queen pinned against the wall. One hand was gripping her throat so tightly that if she had needed to breathe she wouldn't have been able to get any oxygen at all. As it was her eyes were bulging with the pressure and her mouth was opening with words she was unable to form. His other hand held both of her wrists above her head in an unnaturally contorted position that seemed to be threatening dislocation at least two joints of her right arm. Her legs were pinned down, to prevent her from kicking out, by one of his legs pressing them into the wall. She wasn't going anywhere unless he wanted it.

"Remember, I am in my place because I want to be here. It would take no more than a whim for me to take everything you have and crush it. Next time you come here unannounced remember that. You are Queen but I do not take orders. Now. Get the fuck out of my office." He spoke with his face barely an inch away from her face, hissing directly at her and staring her straight in the eyes with his the pale, cold blue of ice. He stood back, releasing her in one fell swoop that if she had been anything less than a vampire would have meant she would have tumbled to the floor in a heap. She just fell to the floor, landing almost gracefully on her feet, and stormed from the room like a lethal toddler having a tantrum. The door slamming shut so harshly behind her only added to the effect.

Carefully, I stood up and went over to him, placing my hands on his shoulders. He was enraged that he was actually breathing, ragged breaths that sent his chest heaving. If he'd been human he would have been red in the face. I watched his eyes return to their normal colour, it was amazing how much you could read from his eyes if you knew what to look for.

"What are you thinking about?" I asked him after another minute.

"Killing Caleb." He replied with a half smile, still looking as though his mind wasn't inside the room with us. "It calms me down to think of tearing that demon's head off. I replay it in slow motion." I grinned back at him; if there was any killing I was going to condone it would be Eric's decapitation of Caleb.

There was no knock on the door to signal Pam's arrival, she just sauntered in and stood just in the room with one hand on her hip. "It still smells like sex in here. Get some air fresheners for next time. Do you want me to give the Queen the money?"

"Yes. Quarter of a million plus interest, make sure the interest is reasonable. I trust your judgement. No more interruptions tonight, from anyone." Pam never said anything else; she just nodded her head at Eric, gave me a wink and left us alone.

As soon as the door closed behind Pam, shutting with a soft click, he stepped forward slightly and pulled me into his arms to cradle me against his chest. His lips found mine in a tender kiss. There was no teasing or harshness, just a slow burning passion shown with how carefully his soft lips moved with mine and his tongue tangled with mine.

"Come on lover, let's go home."

* * *

**So what did you think? Good, bad? Anything else you want answering? It's actually quite sad to say goodbye but it's also a hello to my new story that will be out in a couple of weeks. It's tentatively called Wolfsbane & Silver, I currently have a general plot outline and a chapter written, so look for that soon. **

**I think I'm going to leave it there. Thanks again guys, you're brilliant. **

***hugs***


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